


The Medic and the Vigilante

by HourlyB



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Relationship(s), Reunion, Romance, Seperation, Torture, Violence, interogation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7445920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HourlyB/pseuds/HourlyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alright, so I’ve decided to finally man up and post my OW fanfic.</p>
<p>Basics; The bulk of the plot is focusing on Angela/Mercy and Jack/Soldier 76, their prior romance and life during Overwatch, their separation and grief and then their reunion. Pretty sappy, but hey, I’m not a original writer. Or a good one.</p>
<p>I’m also changing the timeline somewhat, to make it more logical and feasible. Instead of OW lasting 30 years, I’m making it 10, with the “current” time, aka Jack being Soldier 76 and Gabe being Reaper being 5 years after the fall. Gabe and Ana are both a couple, with Fareeha being Gabe’s child, and are older than Jack. Gabe is a career Marine and Jack was in the Army, who both end up in their respective Tier-1 forces. Other than that, not much changed outside of adding a more thorough backstory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bios (updated sometimes)

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is just a character overview of the main players, backstories and such. Actual story happening next chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some basic bios for the characters (Note; Not all characters are included. Assume backstory not changed if not included)

**John “Jack” Morrison**

Age; 41

Place of Birth; Columbus, Indiana

Sexuality; Heterosexual, monogamous

Nationality/Ethnicity; American (Poland/Ireland (Father) and Sweden/Norway (Mother))

Family; Paul (Father, deceased), Ingrid (Mother, deceased)

Occupation; Former US Green Beret Weapons Sergeant, later Team Sergeant, Former member of the US Army Compartmented Element, Weapons Sergeant, final rank Master Sergeant (E-8), Former Strike Commander of Overwatch, Vigilante (under alias “Soldier 76″)

Backstory; Growing up on a farm as an only child, Jack felt the need to see the world, and the US Army gave him that chance. Enlisting at the age of 18, originally he planned to become a “basic infantryman”, but due to outstanding technical and physical scores he was convinced to join the Green Berets, more specifically the 1st Special Forces Group. After leading several successful operations, including the rescue of 20 hostages from a group of 15 radical Russian/Korean extremists in Tokyo, Jack was invited into the Army Compartmented Element (ACE), better known as Delta Force. After 2 years of serving in various high risk operations, meeting and befriending Gabriel Reyes, Jack was offered the opportunity to take part in the new Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP). After having his physiology extremely modified and improved, Jack (26) was selected to join a group of special forces soldiers from around the world, including his friend Gabriel Reyes, marksman Ana Amari, engineer and designer Torbjörn Lindholm and adventurer Reinhardt Wilhelm. The Omnic crisis breaks out, and this new unit is put to the test.

  
**Angela “Mercy” Zeigler**

Age; 37

Place of Birth; Zurich, Switzerland

Nationality/Ethnicity; Swiss

Sexuality; Bisexual, masculine/male preference, monogamous tendencies

Family; Heidi (Mother, deceased), Frederik (Father, deceased)

Occupation; Head of Research and Development at Triemli Hospital, “Doctor in field” at Doctors without Borders, Former head of Medical Research at Overwatch

Backstory; Coming from a family of doctors, Angela studied Emergency Medicine at the University of Geneva to try and help others in need. Immediately after graduating she joined Triemli Hospital’s research and development group, leading several innovations in medicinal nanotechnology and microsurgery, including a device that increases a patients healing factor temporarily. She would also help assist those in areas hit by natural disasters with Doctors without Borders. When the omnic crisis broke out, she lost both of her parents, devastating her. After two years of working to help those injured by the conflict, the UN offered Angela (24) a head medical position in Overwatch, giving her a platform to make sure no one else would suffer what she had suffered.

**Gabriel Reyes**

Age; 57

Place of Birth; Los Angeles, California

Nationality/Ethnicity; American (Black Hispanic, Mexican/Brazilian Father, Black Mother)

Sexuality; Bisexual, no preference

Family; Trevor (Father), Maria (Mother, deceased)

Occupation; Former US Marine Raider Point Man, Former US Navy DEVGRU Team Leader (Gold Squadron), final rank Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8), Former Overwatch Strike Commander, Former Blackwatch Commander, Talon agent and mercenary (under the alias Reaper)

Backstory; The only child of a poor family in the dense city of LA, Gabriel joined the US Marine Corp to get away from a dead end future. Due to his exemplary technical scores, Gabe was enlisted in MARSOC, and after successfully recapturing a hijacked oil tanker from Chilean terrorists, he is invited to join the US Navy’s DEVGRU, better known as SEAL Team 6. 3 years into his career, he eventually meets Ana Amari, an Egyptian sniper who would later become his best friend. While on a joint operation with ACE, he meets Jack, and they immediately hit it off. Gabe saves Jacks life, and they become friends. Joins the SEP along with Jack, and afterwards joins the new UN group where he is appointed as its commander (42), alongside Ana and Jack.

**Ana Amari**

Age; 55 (at "death")

Place of Birth; Alexandria, Egypt

Nationality/Ethnicity; Egyptian (holds US citizenship)

Sexuality; Pansexual, no preference

Family; Areta (Mother), Kaliq (Father)

Occupation; Former Sniper in the Egyptian Army Special Forces, Former Sniper in the US Navy’s DEVGRU (Gold Squadron), Former Overwatch Captain and Sniper

Backstory; Born into a rich military family, Ana had a lot to prove. Joining the Egyptian Army initially for an officer position, she took a marksman course, immediately rocketing to the top of her class and breaking several record, including most lethal shots in 10 seconds (5 headshots at 200 meters), and quickest time to eliminate 20 targets (25 seconds). Currently holds the world’s longest distance kill record (2.75 miles) and the record for longest time in enemy territory alone. (2 and a half months) She was one of the first agents to join Overwatch, alongside her best friends Jack and Gabe. Loved by her comrades, she became one of the public faces of Overwatch alongside Jack, Lena and Reinhardt.

**Reinhardt Wilhelm**

Age; 61

Place of birth; Stuttgart, Germany

Nationality; German

Sexuality; Heterosexual, EXTREMELY MONAGAMOUS

Family; Freda (Mother (deceased), Albert (Father (deceased))

Occupation; Adventurer, Weightlifter/Bodybuilder, Former Heavy Combatant of Overwatch, Former ‘Crusader’ in the German Army

Background; Another one of Overwatch’s first agents, Reinhardt is a powerhouse, even before being suited into power armor. His sense of justice got the attention of the new unit, and his hunger for adventure kept him there. A former member of the elite Heavy Walking Armor Support Soldiers (more commonly referred to as ‘Crusaders’), Reinhardt joined shortly after most of his comrades were slain in the battle of Eichenwalde. Known for daring (and often near suicidal) acts, he helped stop the Omnic Crisis and keep the peace throughout Overwatch’s life. Was finally forced to retire from active service after falling into a deep depression after Ana Amari’s death. Once Overwatch was dissolved, he rejoined with Bridgette, his mechanic and traveled the world, seeking to help anyone in need.


	2. Hero's don't leave.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pretty basic rewrite of the "Hero", with some added story and a flashback added. Hope you guys enjoy, suggestions are welcome!

Dorado. A city on the east coast of Mexico, population of around 150000. One of the few locations left untouched during the Omnic war. Typical problems of a medium sized city.

Anti-Omnic sentiment and violence was probably the highest in the world, barring Moscow. The fruits of the brave new world had yet to reach this place, so poverty and illness were still rampant. The police was corrupt and couldn’t be bothered to help. And criminal gangs controlling the streets, trafficking drugs and weapons and threatening anyone who gets in their way, Omnic or otherwise.

Nice weather, plenty of unforgiving shitbags to fuck with, and just off the map that nobody would suspect that the former commander of Overwatch was still alive. Perfect.

Jack Morrison had been watching over the city for a couple of months now, having moved south into Mexico from the relative peace of the United States. He had ammunition, med supplies, armor, equipment, a car and a big fuckin’ gun. Standard vigilante stuff. The local gang, “Los Muertos”, were big fish in a small pond. Jack raided their warehouses, took out one or two of their drug labs and killed about 7 of their lieutenants _._ Yet they were trafficking in more weaponry than ever. And not the standard 20th century AK’s or machine guns; military grade shit. They had to be getting help from the outside.

Jack had “received info” from a “verifiable source”, that a big shipment was coming in. He planned to go in, kill every fucker that stood in his way, then “talk” to the guy in charge. Secondary goal was pure shock and awe, scare the piss out of them. He slapped on his armor and visor, grabbed his pulse rifle and stuffed it into the passenger seat of his car, a 2014 Ford Mustang. The car was in good condition, given that it was almost 40 years old, originally belonging to Jack’s father. It had long since been modified, the V8 sporting a roots supercharger and a new exhaust. He probably should have left it back at his family home in Indiana, but he needed a car and stealing one was out of the question. So a big, flashy muscle car it is.

He pulled into an empty lot and parked it in the far corner. He got out, grabbed his weapon and started making his way to the location. He took alleys and climbed to the rooftops. A guy in armor with a giant prototype rifle walking the streets would attract the attention of any number of people. He was about a half mile from the meeting point when he saw a trio of Los Muertos cheering and yelling.

He saw them standing over a sparking object. it was an Omnic, one of the civilian models. The thing shuddered and held up its hand, clearly begging for mercy. Jack had killed plenty of Omnics during the Crisis over 15 years ago. But seeing this unnecessary violence still made his blood boil. He saw them begin to harass a little girl who was walking by, couldn’t have been more than 12 or 13. Trying to get her to join in on the violence. When she refused, they took her money and played catch with it. “Fucking scum.”, Jack growled. But he had to move on, or else the meeting would start without him.

It was only about a couple hundred feet to the meeting point. They were already loading off crates, only a couple of guards on lookout, a fat one and a scrawny one. More were arriving in a truck, looked like it might be the same punks who were beating the Omnic. He made his way to ground silently, walking behind the two guards.

He elbowed the fat one in the back of the head, immediately knocking him out. Before he even hit the floor, the scrawny one realized what was going on. Still 5 seconds too late. Jack was already on him, dragging him away and making sure he screamed loud enough to get his buddies attention. A couple of rapid hits to the neck and temple put him out. Three more muertos walked over to their unconscious friend, waking him up.

Show time.

He threw the skinny punk into an electrical box behind them, taking out the power. The entire alley went dark. They had gotten luminescent tattoos of skeletons painted on their bodies, each glowing a different color, red purple and green. “Yo-You see anything?” The purple tattoed one stammered, all three going for weapons. These three hardcore motherfuckers turned into three scared little kids real quick. Stupid too, considering they never checked the alley their friend just flew out of.

“Enough games, perro!!” The purple one yelled, “Come out and fight!!!”

 _Gladly_. Jack thought to himself.

He punched the purple one square in the face, quickly dodging the attacks of the other two. He disarmed one, taking his weapon and cracking his friend over the head with it. _One down_. The purple one tried to jump on his back, but Jack spun around and hit him with an elbow and then hammerfist. The red one lunged at him again, and received a knee to the nose, knocking him out cold. _Two down._ The muerto he threw into the electrical box charged at him, getting punched out as quickly as he came. _Three._ Finally, the purple one threw a punch, which Jack dodged before levering him head first into a wall.

 _Four._ It couldn’t have lasted any more than 10 seconds. He saw a small kid’s change purse in the shape of an octopus (or something) laying on the ground. Jack pocketed it, figuring it probably belonged to the girl from earlier.

A really scrawny punk with gelled hair and glasses was still loading boxes when he finally realized the fact his friends just had their asses kicked, and he was next. He immediately dropped what he was holding and whistled for backup, before charging to a gigantic box on the truck. He pulled out a gigantic rotary cannon, easily twice his size. He immediately spooled up the barrels, sending rounds down range. 90 percent of them impacted either the walls or the ground 20 feet in front of Jack. Jack quickly maneuvered to an alley for cover. His buddies finally arrived, shooting with slightly more accuracy. Jack selected the rocket launcher option on his gun and moved out of cover quickly. He steadied himself, firing at the minigun wielding muerto. The target exploded in an orange fireball. He kept moving, aware of fact bullets were raining around him. He saw three muertos holding AK rifles on the rooftops, and turned on his tactical visor. He ran up and jumped off a set of boxes, turning around to face the firing squad. Three squares appear over their bodies, and Jack holds down the trigger.

Three bodies fell off the roof, dead. Jack lands back on the ground and hears someone crawling away. Purple had just woke up. He was pleading with Jack, begging for mercy, just as the Omnic he tortured was just minutes before. _Karma sure can be ironic._ Jack slowly and methodically walked over. He picked up what was once a piñata, burnt and ripped apart by his rocket. He stomped on purple’s ankle, preventing him from moving. Purple began screaming.

 

 

Jack raised his fist, wrapped in the burning piñata. He hammered his fist into the back purple’s head.

“THESE. ARE. NOT. YOUR. STREETS. ANYMORE!!!” Jack roared, slamming his fist down with each word. The final one knocked purple unconscious.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. Definitely not one of the muertos. He looked up and saw a little girl, the same one from earlier.

 _FUCK. A civi._ Shit just got infinitely more complicated.

“No!! Please, I didn’t…” she began to plead. Understandable, considering he just killed 4 or 5 men and had just beaten one unconscious in front of her. He heard more commotion behind him, more muertos trying to evacuate whoever was still alive. “You don’t get off that easy!” Jack yelled at them, charging forward. An orange muerto grabbed a grenade, “EAT THIS!!” he pulled the pin and tossed it. It landed right in front of the girl, who screamed in terror.

_Fuck._

The muertos were driving away, laughing at their getaway. Jack stood poised to run, but he heard the beeping of the grenade, and then the girls screams. He threw down his rifle and turned around.

40 feet in 2 seconds. Even in his prime, that would’ve been impressive. He scooped her up and covered her just as the grenade went off. He skidded across the ground, finally stopping before becoming aware of a sharp pain in his side. _Right where the vest stops. Great._ He began sitting up, letting go of the girl. She was safe, completely unmarked. She had brown hair in a braid and soft brown eyes. She looked confused, seeing this man who just crushed a guy’s skull almost sacrifice himself for a random girl. Jack stood up, grabbing at a sharp pain in his side, growling through it. He looked off to where the truck had driven. _No chance of catching them now, not like this anyway._

“You… You saved me.” The girl said quietly, “Why?” Jack turned to face her quickly, as though the reason was obvious. She gasped, clearly still scared. Jack mused for a second. “Old habits die hard, I guess.” He tried smiling at her, but remembered it was a futile gesture, given the mask and visor. _You aren’t in Overwatch any more, old man._ “Run home kid, it ain’t safe around here.” He said, as he tossed her back her purse. She was shocked, but quickly smiled at him. He returned it, the only real indication of it being his brow unfurling, before turning around to pick up his rifle.

“You’re one of those heroes, aren’t you?” She asked him, sounding hopeful. The question hits Jack hard. ‘ _You are’. Present tense._ “Not anymore.” He states simply, walking back towards the carnage. _Yeah, you aren’t. Ran away from Overwatch, from the team, from…. Angela._ Jack shook his head. Given the lack of survivors, he needed to find clues as to how these punks got a minigun, before the cops showed up.

His answer came fairly quickly. A crate was busted open from his helix rocket’s explosion, and inside he saw a pretty clear indication of who they were getting supplies from.

Red lensed night vision goggles. Black tactical gear, ballistic plates and gas masks. Talon standard kit. This was becoming interesting. Jack snapped a couple of pictures, took a set of armor plates and a gas mask, before climbing up to the roof tops and making his way back to his car. He heard sirens when he was half way to his car. He quickened his pace, finally slowing down when he got near the parking lot.

He heard a rapid pitter-patter below him, turning to face it. He saw the little girl, running with her arms carrying a bag of something. She ran into a small, homey little restaurant, and Jack heard a faint female voice, clearly worried. And then the excited response. Jack smiled to himself. _Well, that’s another reason to fight los Muertos._

He hopped down off the roof, taking off his visor and his jacket. He threw them into the back seat. Los Muertos would have people looking for him soon enough. _Have to get out of town quick._ Jack thought to himself. He turned the key, and the V8 barked into life. He slid the transmission into first and made a quiet exit, engine thrumming along. _Gonna have to find out what their deal with Talon is, hit their base. But first…_ Jack winced as he adjusted himself in his seat, _Medical._

Jack arrived at the abandoned warehouse he was using as an operations base. Far enough out of town that no one would follow him, but still big enough to be useful. He had stockpiles of ammunition, med’s, fuel and food. All military grade, which is great for meds and ammo, but shit for food. He pulled into the warehouse, parking the Mustang just out of sight. He made his way to the small office that had turned into his living room, and flipped a switch. Some construction flood lights came on, basking his working area in light. Jack peeled off his jacket, and then the vest underneath. All things considered, it wasn’t that bad.

His jacket was torn like hell, but the vest took most of the shrapnel. He quickly took off the thermal shirt he was wearing and examined his wounds. Some minor bruising from diving to catch the girl, and a couple of shallow cuts on his left abdomen. _Really, this is what I’ve been groaning about? I’ve seen toddlers with scraped knees worse than this._ He quickly walked over to a med kit and opened it up, fishing out a bottle of antiseptic wash. He poured it over the wound, clenching his fist as it stung. He grabbed a tube of ointment, promptly coated the wounds with it, and then took a square of gauze and some athlete’s tape, taping the bandage to his side. He slipped the thermal back on. _There, almost as good as Angela._

Jack frowned. “Fuck.” He groaned out loud. _The last thing I need is to be reminding myself of them. Especially her._ It had been 5 years since the destruction of Overwatch, 5 years since everything he had spent so much of his life on got destroyed. _C’mon Jack. GET. OVER. IT. We have bigger things to focus on._ He grabbed his rifle and made his way to the ammunition bench, loading up several magazines. But he thought about them. He walked to his armor, checking for holes. But he thought about them. He grabbed his visor, polishing it and making sure everything worked. But he thought about _her_.

Jack sensed the visor was about to fall out of his hands, and tightened his grip on it. _C’mon, keep it together._ But he just couldn’t. Everything was coming at him now. _Why now? Why does it have to be that just when Talon comes back and innocent lives are at stake do I have to turn into some sentimental old fuck?_ He put the visor down next to his rifle, and rubbed his eyes. He was just so tired, of everything. He missed the old team. Reyes, Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjorn, Genji, McCree, Winston, Lena. But he missed Angela the most. He missed her smile, her laugh, her voice, her warmth, the fact she would get so _happy_ when talking to him about some new treatment she was working on, while he just tried to keep up. He missed going to sleep with her and waking up with her in his arms. He missed dinners and movies and just hanging out with her. He missed everything.

 _Enough, old man. We’re going to do a raid tomorrow, if you even want the possibility of seeing them again, you need to prepare._ Jack shook his head, and returned to checking his equipment. The only thing really damaged was his jacket. But he had another one, but instead of red, white and blue, this jacket was all white.

He laid out his equipment, triple checking it for the final time. He walked over to a small table, grabbed a military ration and started to eat. Beef stew dinner with “electrolyte drink” and “chewy fruit candy”. _Basically Campbell’s beef stew, Gatorade and Skittles._ He sat in silence, trying to focus on eating. But he just fell into a memory.

 

Jack Morrison memorial, former Overwatch HQ, Geneva, Switzerland. Early August. Pretty rainy, about 3 to 4 inches throughout the day. Jack was in Europe because he just helped to stop a heist from being pulled off at the Swiss National Bank. Pretty simple, honestly. A group of 5 guys, they hadn’t expected a fight. Made his way out before the police could catch him. Doubt they would charge him, but better safe than sorry.

It was the 4th anniversary of Jack’s “death”, so he figured what better day to visit. He had hoped the rain would keep people away, which it did. Otherwise, it the place would’ve been crowded. Jack was carrying an umbrella and was wearing aviators and a long coat, covering his combat fatigues. He had also grown out a beard as a further disguise.

Jack looked up at the statue, a heroic rendition of himself, his coat billowing, right hand saluting and left hand resting on his rifle, muzzle on the ground. Jack chuckled, _C’mon, if you’re gonna make me into a statue, at least have me use proper firearm discipline._ Other than that, Jack did like it. He stood looking at his double for about 5 minutes, before turning to leave.

He was almost halfway out when he heard it. A soft sniffling. Familiar. Heartbreaking. Jack spun around, so quickly his aviators almost fell off. And he saw her.

Angela Zeigler. Former head of Medicine at Overwatch, currently a relief worker and Jack's former, well, girlfriend. Wearing a modest black dress, her hair in her usual cute ponytail and carrying a black umbrella. And she was crying. Not big sobbing, collapse on the ground and scream crying. This was softer, more heartbroken crying. Jack was fixed in place, mouth agape and heart wounded.

Angela stopped in front of Jack’s statue, right next to the short plaque giving his name, date of birth and date of death. She paused, looking up at Jack’s statue. _Is she smiling?_ Jack couldn’t tell, he was too far away. She placed something at the feet of the memorial, wiped her eyes, and made her way back out.

Once she had left, Jack immediately rushed forward. The object was a letter addressed to him, which was getting damp, but he could still make out her hand writing. He sat there, stuck between the decision of letting her thoughts remain hers, and being able to have some sort of contact with her.

He choose the latter. Gingerly, he opened the letter, carefully unfolding it.

_Jack,_

_Sorry I wasn’t able to visit sooner, there was an incident in Jordan. A giant sandstorm took out faculties for huge part of the country, had to help get them back on their feet. You know how it is._

_I know it’s been so long, and I say it in every one of these letters, but I still miss you. Everyone else does too. I talked with Winston the other day, he’s doing fine. Seems to be focused on his toys, as usual. I heard he’s set up shop back at the old watchpoint in Gibraltar. Good to know the place has a guard scientist, someone raided Grand Mesa in Colorado. Nobody was killed, thank god, but people are nervous. Some tech was stolen, a fancy new gun of some sort, and some of the new biotic fields I was developing, a revolution for front line first aid. I have the plans still, so thankfully nothing was lost._

_Genji came to see me just last week, he’s doing well. He’s been studying under Tekhartha Zenyatta, a member of those Omnic monks, the Shambali. He seems to have found some peace, he was a bit of a mess after Overwatch was dissolved. Lena visited as well, she’s just a peppy as ever. Still, she mentions how she misses Overwatch, though I’ve heard she’s still helping people over in London._

_We all miss you, Jack. I hope, wherever you are, you’re at peace. I would never forgive myself if you were turned into something like Amelie. I just hope you’re reading this, somewhere._

_I love you,_

_Angel_

Jack almost collapsed as he read the final line. Tears were welling in his eyes, spilling over and rolling down his cheeks and along his scars. After all these years.

Jack wanted to run to her. He wanted to beg at her feet for forgiveness. He wanted to hold her, speak to her.

He wanted to be near her.

But he knew that if that happened, he would make them a target. He wasn’t going to risk her life just for his happiness. Talon wouldn’t let the man who cost them so much get away from them.

He folded up the letter into a small square, and put it in his wallet. _At least I can have this._

Jack woke from his trance, becoming acutely aware of the wetness in his eyes. He quickly rubbed them, before turning off the flood lights and making his way to a small cot. He collapsed on the bed, and tried to find some sleep. It was going to be a long day tomorrow, so he’d need it.


	3. An Angel's Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela is doing what she does best, helping those in need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for those of you who are interested, I'm going to try and update this fic weekly, hopefully every Saturday or Sunday. I am currently attending college, so I can't guarantee anything. But here's hoping, right?  
> Also, I'm going to interject a character's native language into their dialogue. So some phrases from Angela will be in German, Japanese for Genji and Arabic for Ana/Fareeha.

Southeastern Iraq, an area crippled by a natural disasters. A land of constant destruction and suffering. A place where innocent people dying are considered a statistic. An unfortunate inevitability.

_Not if I can help it._

Angela Ziegler ran forward, across the rubble. Her Valkyrie suit was scanning the area for any life signs. So far, it hadn’t turned up anything. She continued running, her suit’s jets helping to thrust her along.

 _Please let there be someone here._ She came to the foot of an apartment block, flattened by an earthquake. _Please…._

Suddenly, her suit started beeping. A small orange dot appeared on her suit’s HUD. Angela immediately ran towards it. And she saw her.

A little girl, maybe 5 or 6. Pinned underneath some twisted metal and concrete. 40 feet above Angela.

_Well, I never thought this was going to be easy._

Her suit came on at full power, her wings propelling her up to the child. The child’s eyes perked up, seeing this near literal angel coming towards her. Angela reached her hand out, and they made contact.

“Hello. I’m here to help you, are you alright?” Angela said in her most calm and reassuring voice. The little girl nodded, before saying “My leg really hurts. Please…”

Angela had already started working. She grabbed the piece of concrete that was pinning her leg, and began to try and lift it up. The concrete was only a small broken off section, so Mercy lifted it off with ease. She grabbed the little girl, carrying her down to the ground. Once there, her suit did a complete scan of her.

_Minor scrapes and some bruising. She’s very lucky, all things considered._

“Alright, dear, let’s get you someplace safe, jah?” Angela smiled at her. She picked her up and carried her to the relief tents just a half mile away.

“I have another one. Very good health.” She announced to the doctor on duty. Dr. Victoria Thane, an E.R doctor from London. “Amazing Dr. Zeigler! That’s 20 today!” Angela waved her hand, “It’s my job. How many have we got now?” Thane looked at her datapad, “Looks like around 100 walk ins, but we’re holding up fine on supplies. Not many injured yet.” Mercy nodded her head, putting the young girl down on a cot, “Good, I’m going to head out again.” Thane motioned for her, “Wait, we’ve being getting reports of looters in the area. NATO is bringing in some guards to help, they’ll be here in 15 minutes.” Angela waved her off, “I’ll be fine, and any minute wasted could be a life lost.” She jetted off, back to the rubble.

She kept moving, her suit not picking up anything. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. Then she noticed some life signs. Moving.

She stopped hovering and quietly walked forward. 5 men, carrying old assault rifles. She whipped out her pistol, just in case.

“Hello?” She called out.

“Go away, this place belongs to us, leave immediately!”

“I’m here to help, please!”

The sound of automatic rifle fire was her answer.

_Verdammt!_

Angela looked at her HUD. 3 men began walking towards her. She turned the corner, pulled up her pistol and fired two shots. The first hit one man in the upper chest, then his stomach. He keeled over immediately, dead. “Holy hell, what-”, suddenly, 5 rounds hit him in the chest. Angela spun around. A squad of 5 soldiers were walking towards her, killing the last of her attackers.

A talk pale man with a long scar across his scalp stepped forward and saluted, early or mid 30’s. “Dr. Zeigler, we’re ODA 2541 with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. We’ve been sent to escort you while you’re rescuing people. I’m Captain Shepard.” He offered his hand, and Angela took it. His voice was clear, loud but friendly, with an American accent. Or maybe Canadian? She frowned, soldiers tended to get in the way, or act too aggressive. But given the situation that just happened, she wasn’t really going to say no to extra protection. “Alright, but don’t get in my way. And only open fire if we’re being attacked. Understand?” She responded curtly. “Affirmative. And ma’am, it’s an honor to work alongside an Overwatch legend.” She nodded, not exactly sure how to take the praise.

They all began to run through the ruins, searching for people, eventually finding 5 more. They performed short medical scans on their injuries, then gave them water and asked if they could walk. Those who could, followed behind the squad, often carrying those who couldn’t. The group kept getting larger, before they turned back into base. “We’ve got 18 coming in, various states of health.” She reported. “How are supplies?” Thane perked up. “These Marines brought a large amount of supplies with them, we should be all set.” One of the soldiers behind Angela chuckled, “We’re Green Berets. Not jarheads.” Thane looked up slightly startled, “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” The soldiers all began to laugh, the Captain quickly replying “Don’t worry, Doc. We’re just messin’ around.”

Angela excused herself, quickly tending to a few of the wounded inside the tent. A set bone here, a stitch there. Busy work, honestly. The captain appeared behind her, “Need a hand, doc?” Angela shook her head. “I’m fine, captain. But if you would like to help, you can start handing out water bottles.” The captain nodded, “On it.” Quickly, the entire squad was handing out bottles of water and energy drink to some of the kids. The squad’s medic, a pretty girl with tan skin, was helping some of the adults, mostly sewing up cuts. Soon, the entire camp was taken care of, more or less.

Angela slumped against the wall, suddenly now realizing she had been running all day. She felt light headed, and she had a minor headache. The captain sat next to her, handing her a water bottle. “Ah, Vielen Dank.” She began sipping it, her headache disappearing. The captain took a sip from his Gatorade, “I gotta say Doc; that was some impressive shit back there.” Angela shrugged, “Oh, that’s nothing. I’m just trying to help make them comfortable.” The soldier shook his head, “No, not that. When we first found you, when you had to take out that tango. That was very impressive, doc.” Angela nodded, her voice somber, “Well, I had to do what I had to do.” The captain put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t worry Doc, you did the right thing. I’m just surprised how well trained you were.”

“Well, I had a very good teacher.” Angela replied. “Oh, who was it? Maybe they can teach me pistol technique like that.” Shepard joked. Angela paused a second before answering. “Jack Morrison taught me.” The captain accidentally inhaled a gulp of his Gatorade, almost coughing up a lung in the process. Mercy gently patted his back, before he sprung back up. “WHAT!? Jack Morrison? As in, **the** Jack Morrison?” Angela nodded. “Wow. That’s crazy Doc! How well did you know him?” Memories flooded her mind; the day they met, their first real date, the first night they slept together, the first time they made love. His body, every blemish and scar it had, his handsome yet happy face, and his deep, calm blue eyes.

“Fairly well.” She responded, lost in her memories. The captain noticed, and laughed. “More than that, I’m guessing.” Angela woke from the reverie. _Verdammt! Was it that obvious?_ She chuckled, “Yes. We were a couple.” She put it simply. “We were together eight years, almost nine, before he…” She stopped, a sudden look of pain in her eyes. The captain noticed, apologizing. “Hey, I’m really sorry I brought this up. I didn’t mean…” Mercy held up her hand, “It’s fine. What about you, I see you have someone.” She gestured to the gold band on his right hand. “Oh...” he laughed, then reached in his jacket.

He pulled out a smartphone, wrapped in a heavy duty black case. He flipped over to photos, showing them to Angela. A beautiful woman with raven black hair and blue eyes was looking back, smiling. “That’s Miri. We’ve been married about 2 years, and I’ve known her for 7.” He flipped to the next one, picture of Miri, a man in blue armor holding a large sniper rifle and a woman in a purple suit with a wrist computer and her face almost completely hidden. Then a selfie of the two of them, Miri tucked under his arm, both of them beaming. Angela put her hand to her chest, “You two are so cute! What does she do?” Shepard waved his hand, “She’s working intelligence for the Australian Special Air Service. I did a joint operation with them a couple of years ago, that’s how I met her. After we completed the mission, I found her again and asked her out to dinner. Been together ever since.”

“That is so nice! Wait a moment…” Angela pulled out her phone, and pulled up her own pictures. The first was of the two of them, standing in front of the old HQ. Jack had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, his perfect smile in full view, blue eyes crinkling. And her hands were twinning together with his, her entire face lit up. Almost a life time ago, it seems. She flipped to the next one, which was just Jack in his casual outfit, some cargo pants and a black tee shirt, his face still beaming.

Then she flipped to a big group picture, back when Overwatch was in full swing; “Gabriel, Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Jesse, Fareeha, Genji, Lena, Winston, Jack and me.” She pointed out. Jack was next to Angela, his smile more reserved, but still warm and his arm around Angela. Angela was much the same, her hand touching the arm that was around her, smiling sweetly. Gabriel was less subtle, picking up Ana and carrying her, hero style. Ana was in the middle of laughing her ass off, with Gabe acting like a man half his age. Jesse and Fareeha, both in training at the time, were standing aside, trying not to get in the way when Gabriel inevitably collapsed. Genji, Torbjörn and Reinhardt were all flexing ridiculously, though Reinhardt looked like he was taking it half seriously. Winston was carrying Lena on his back, both beaming excitedly. Overall, it was a very goofy picture.

The captain smiled, “It’s weird looking at you guys like this, the UN tried to make you all seem larger than life. Nice to see you guys are human.” Angela laughed, “I suppose that’s true. But we were all just doing our jobs.” Angela looked at her watch. “My goodness, look at the time! I’d better get to bed. It’s been wonderful talking with you, captain.” Shepard smiled, “Same here, doc. Good night.”

Angela made her way back to her office, a small temporary building with a computer and a twin sized bed. She noticed two guards were now posted outside her door, one with an American flag on his shoulder and the other a Canadian flag. Angela locked the door behind her and took off her Valkyrie suit, leaving her standing in a tight black nylon shirt and leggings. She collapsed on the bed immediately, rolling around until she was finally comfortable. She opened her phone to check for any messages, but it reopened the group photo. She smiled, then flipped to the next picture. It was of her and Jack lying near naked in bed, Jack planting a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck. She blushed. She was rather glad she hadn’t shown it to the captain.

She kept flipping through the pictures. She felt pangs of nostalgia, and all of the emotions it entails. She thought she had put him behind her, but Jack was a very hard man to forget. She thought that maybe focusing on her work would make it easier, but all that did was make the torrent even more ferocious when it inevitably came. So she stayed, going through all of the old memories. She finally put her phone down, trying to go to sleep, but one final memory played in her head.

 

 

She was back at the old HQ, back at Jack’s memorial. She would come here twice every year, on his birthday and on the day of his death. It had been four years since she lost him. Four long years since she lost her soulmate, the one person on the earth she could trust completely, no holding back. Four years since she buried an empty casket in Arlington. Four years since she told his weeping family that she couldn’t save him. Four years of loneliness that only helping others could distract her from.

She walked into the park, it was a cold and rainy day. She carrier a sealed letter, a little note to Jack. While not vowed to any single religion, Angela still believed that Jack was somewhere, looking down on her. And she wanted him to know she still cared, that she still loved him. She wanted to think of him smiling, the next best thing to actually seeing him smile. She approached the memorial statue, a stoic vision of the noble commander Morrison.

She looked up at his stern visage, a face of cold, hard determination and focus. _This is not how II remember him._ She remembered Jack, not Commander Morrison. Remembering his deep sky blue eyes, his calming voice, always having time to talk, not just for her, for everyone. The fact he almost always was wearing a smile, right until the end. God, she missed him. She put the letter down, said goodbye to him, then left, the image of Jack and his perfect smile warming her cold, wet cheeks.

 

She suddenly woke from her reverie, her cheeks still flush. She smiled, finally finding a comfortable place in her bed, and was granted peaceful dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DID YOU GET THE CAMEO. THE CLEVER MASS EFFECT CAMEO.  
> Yeah, I decided to include my Shepard as a character, because I just love that game too much. He romanced Miranda Lawson, if that wasn't obvious. Might do a story about them. Don't count on it, though.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed! Suggestions/criticisms welcome! Next chapter focuses on Jack again.


	4. A man of Conviction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack goes to the Los Muertos HQ to find out why they are working with Talon. Pretty much only action in this chapter, next with have more emotional stuff with Angela, don't worry! Bonus points if you get the reference in the title!  
> *Note; This chapter can get pretty violent, so don't read if you are sensitive to that stuff.

**Dorado, 7 am.**

Jack grumbled awake, rubbing his eyes after getting 7 hours of sleep. _Surprised I got even that much._ Jack quickly stretched, then checked his wound. The wound had completely healed, just some scar tissue to indicate that anything had happened. _Heh, thank God for secret government projects, huh?_ He grabbed a (relatively) fresh thermal shirt, put it on, strapped on a pair of boots and moved to his equipment.

First vest, then jacket, then visor. He pressed a couple buttons and the HUD booted up, showing his biometrics. _All clear._ He grabbed the giant pulse rifle, and stuffed as many energy clips into his vest as he could, along with his remaining stun and frag grenades. He strapped and buckled his holster to his right thigh, and grabbed his old pistol. The pistol was an early 21 st century Heckler and Koch USP Tactical in .45 ACP which had been with him ever since he was a Green Beret. Some call it old, he called it reliable. He racked the slide, flipping the safety and smiling at the mechanical nature of it. He slid it into his holster, where it locked smoothly with a satisfying _click_.

He tossed his kit into the passenger seat of the Mustang, buckling in and firing it up. He knew where he was going, an “abandoned” shipping warehouse on the far side of Dorado, next to the harbor. For the last 5 years, the Muertos were using it as their base of operations. Less than a year ago, the place was untouchable, and even if you destroyed it somehow, they could just set up somewhere else. But Jack had fucked them up, their organization had lost several important men, recruitment was down and the public had gone from scared to actively resisting them. Los Muertos was going through death throws. _They probably turned to Talon in an act of desperation._ Still, it was a lead on them, and anything that could fuck with a Talon operation was good for him. That and the Muertos were a disease that needed desperate cleansing, so helping the town would at least make Jack feel good. He pulled out of the warehouse, the Mustang barking and rumbling from being driven hard. He made his way through the town, avoiding the plaza and marketplace, before finally arriving at the harbor.

He parked the Mustang in a lot in front of the shipping docks. He grabbed his kit and moved into the harbor. Activity was low, so he decided speed was pretty much analogous to stealth. He ran through the shipping area, making his way to the warehouse. While he was trying to keep someone alive last night, now he was just out to make damage. Only one VIP, Andre Corbon, the head of the organization. An “OG”, he founded the gang back when the Omnic war had just ended. He wore a luchador mask in addition to the glowing tattoos they all wore, like they did when the organization was originally founded. Jack was going to have a “talk” with him, and if that fell through, well, they usually forget to completely scrub everything.

He finally arrived at the front of the building, 2 trucks outside and not much else. _At most they might have 20 guys._ Jack climbed a set of stairs, looking in one of the windows. He saw a couple of guys mulling around, carrying boxes. _No weapons. Probably just kids off the street, don’t even have tattoos yet._ He moved further along, counting how many of them were actually armed. _6; AK rifles and old SMG’s, some grenades._ He saw a man sitting at a desk inside a small office, his head covered by a luchador mask. _Bingo._

“Visor, begin recording.” Jack whispered, and a red dot began flashing on the right hand side of his HUD. Jack readied his rifle, thinking of ways to enter. He saw a small doorway right below him, deciding that blasting his way in was unnecessary. He opened it slowly, pieing the corner as he entered to make sure no one was there. He quickly checked his surroundings, moving behind some boxes for cover. He peeked around the corner, and saw one of the workers. Jack considered his options, killing him would be easy, but the kid didn’t have any tattoos yet, meaning he hadn’t become a official muerto. Probably just working for money. Jack decided he’d interrogate him, then give him a chance.

“Hey!” Jack whispered, to get the kids attention. “Hmmm?” the kid began walking towards him. Before he rounded the corner, Jack grabbed him, clenching his hand down on the kid’s airway and pointing his pistol at his head. “You know who I am?” Jack said quietly. The kid nodded, eyes widened with terror. “Y-y-you’re _solado de ojos rojos,_ the guy who’s been taking out the shipments, killing los Muertos all over the city.” He choked out, his throat still being crushed. “So you know what I’m capable of. Now tell me, how many are in here?” Jack demanded. “Twent-Twenty Two.” He stammered out “But only like 15 of them have guns. Please, I-I’m just trying to make some money, man, so are my friends. We just move boxes and stuff. P-p-p-please don’t kill me!”

The kid was clearly scared shitless, so Jack decided to be merciful for once. “Alright, listen. You go tell your boss you wanna take a lunch break, get some of your friends out. I’m giving you 5 minutes. After that, this place will become the center of a gunfight and los Muertos will be done, so look for better work. And if you tell them I’m here; I. Will. Fucking. End. You. Understand?” The kid began nodding furiously, “U-understood, man.” Jack let him go, and set his timer for 5 minutes. The kid moved quickly to the front of the warehouse, grabbing 5 of his friends and running off. _16 left. Smart kid._ A small beep went off, 5 minutes were up.

Jack moved around the corner and saw two guards talking. He readied his rifle, and swung around, taking the two out quickly. He quickly ran up to a better position, taking cover and checking for movement. Two muertos came from the right, firing at where he just was. He quickly returned fire and popped in a new clip, the gun beeping to signal it was ready while he pocketed the empty clip. He moved up, checking his corners. He could hear another guard behind a couple of boxes, and began firing at him, but the guard stayed behind cover. He took his empty clip and dropped it on the ground, making the guard think he was reloading. The guard popped up and received two shots to his chest.

Three of them rounded the corner, firing from the hip and hitting the box behind Jack. Jack selected the helix missle and fired, blasting all three of them to hell. Jack heard the stomping of feet near him, on the other side of the box, he dropped his rifle in its sling and took out his pistol. The muerto walked past Jack, who quickly disarmed the guard before shooting him twice in the chest with his pistol. He continued moving with the pistol, and saw 4 of the guards all grouped up, one of them straddling a light machine gun. He quickly grabbed a wall for cover, grabbing his rifle. They all began firing at him, chips of debris hitting Jack. Jack primed and threw a frag grenade, which landed right behind them. “OH FU-!!!” _Ker-kreesh!!_ The grenade exploded, and the gunfire ceased. Jack saw Corbon carrying a large pistol, pointing his last two guards towards Jack. “Don’t just stand there you useless fucks, KILL HIM!”

Jack quickly moved up to another piece of cover, firing at the one on the left, striking him in the head, dropping him instantly. His friend froze before throwing his SMG to the ground and screaming, “FUCK THIS SHIT!!”, running for the exit. “USELESS FUCKWAD!” Corbon screamed after him. He grabbed the discarded SMG. “ **BRING IT ON, YOU FUCKING SHIT!!!** ” Corbon began firing wildly into the warehouse, climing up some stairs to get to a room on the second floor. Jack slammed a new clip into his rifle and a mag into his USP. He quietly began flanking Corbon, moving up a staircase to the side. Jack heard Corbon’s SMG finally run out of ammunition. “Piece of shit!” He grabbed his pistol, and Jack finally got a good look at it. It was a gold plated Desert Eagle, probably .44 magnum or .50 AE.   _Typical gangster gun, all for posing, nothing for performing._ Corbon began whipping it around, holding it sideways. “Bring it, asshole!” Jack stacked up next to the door opposite of where Corbon was aiming and took out a flashbang grenade, priming it. He threw it into the room, heard a loud _BANG_ and then “ARGHH!!!! FUCK, MY EYES!!”

Jack took that as his cue to enter, storming in. Corbon was barely standing, his hands cupped to his ears and his eyes shut. Jack quickly disarmed him of his pistol and ripped off the luchador mask, a terrified man in his mid 30’s appeared, whose throat was now near being crushed. “Hello, Corbon.” Jack said as he turned Corbon’s own pistol against him, his voice lethal. “Oh fuck man!! Listen, I got over $2000 in that safe over there; you want it, you can have it. Just let me go, man!” Jack dragged Corbon over to a desk, and slammed his head down onto it. A large gash appeared on Corbon’s temple which began bleeding profusely. “I’m not interested in fucking money, Corbon. What I am interested in is Talon. Why are you working with them?” “L-listen man, we just wanted guns and shit! They gave them to us, I don’t know what to tell you, man!” He stammered. “Bullshit.” Jack snarled, “Why are they here?” Corbon suddenly got shifty eyes, “Look man, if I tell you, they’re gonna kill me!” Jack walked Corbon over to a window, gabbing Corbon’s shirt and slamming him through it. The window gave way, and Corbon was dangling 20 feet in the air, only Jack’s grip keeping him from falling, “OH FUCK!! FUCK ME!! BRING ME BACK, BRING ME BACK, I’LL TELL YOU!!” Jack pulled him back in, still keeping the pistol trained on him.

“They’re trying to fuck with LumeriCo or some shit man, plus they support us killing robo-fucks! That’s it man!” Jack was satisfied, it made sense for Talon, fucking with faculties for a country was in their range of operations. “Alright, last question; where are they? Where is your Talon handler?” Corbon for some reason though it was a smart idea to get angry at the man pointing a giant pistol at his head, “I don’t fucking know, dumbass!” Jack whipped him across the face with the pistol, then placed it right next to his ear and fired. The bullet didn’t hit him, but the muzzle flash sure as fuck did. “OH GOD MY FUCKING EAR!!! ARGH FUCKING SHIT!!” He grabbed at the seared and torn flesh. “You gonna talk now?” Jack stepped back. “YES! L-Look, he would only set up meetings, but there’s gonna be one tonight at 9, at the old factory on the north side of town, on Arboleda street.” Jack nodded, _Good, ambush them and get some answers from the source._ “How many?” Corbon answered immediately. “Like 4 or 5. The boss dude is always wearing a black suit, easy to see, and his body guards have some serious kit. Body armor and top of the line guns.” Jack nodded again, “Good, that’s what I needed to know.” Corbon nodded, “Can I go now?” Jack laughed, “Nah, can’t have you warning your friends.” Jack grabbed Corbon’s head, and then rapidly punched him in the temple, knocking him unconscious. Jack put him into the recovery position and checked his pulse. _He’s good. His hearing will most likely never recover completely, but hey._ Jack searched his pockets for a cell phone, finding and quickly pocketing it. _Probably would have some info on it._ “Visor, end recording.”

Jack made his way over to the safe, shooting the lock with the giant pistol. Sure enough, $2000 was laying there. Jack considered his options. _Do I take blood money, or do I take blood money and give half of it to a shelter? Last one, definitely._ He stuffed his pack with bills and pocketed the large pistol. _Thing is pretty much useless, but hey, it’s shiny and valuable._ Jack quickly searched for documents they had on Talon, took some photos of those with pertinent information and made his way out of the warehouse, back to the parked car. _Next stop, the factory._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Might be making some bio changes, just so you guys are aware!  
> Any suggestions/criticisms are welcome! Thank you!


	5. Old friends from better times

Southeastern Iraq, 9 am.

Angela woke to the sound of chatter and busy people. She quickly got up and began stretching her lithe arms and legs, massaging the muscles. She quickly showered and put on a clean long sleeve black nylon shirt and matching leggings, before stepping into her Valkyrie suit. She walked out of her office, locking the door behind her. She took a look at the camp. It was now bustling with soldiers all wearing various flags, mostly US, UK and Germany. A small fleet of military vehicles were parked on the far side, next to a large tent with a sign saying “barracks” in front of it. A large wall had been erected around the camp. _Good, we have some definite protection now._

She made her way to the med tent, and noticed that the place wasn’t as crowded as she expected. “Victoria, have many more refugees arrived?” Thane shook her head, “Sorry ma’am, only about 5 more over last night. This seems to be all of them. Given the scale of the disaster, this is unsurprising.” _Verdammt._ “Alright, how are our current patients doing?” Thane smiled, “Very well, a few broken bones and lacerations, nothing serious. They seem to be comfortable.” Angela returned the smile, “That is very good news, good job Dr. Thane!” Thane smiled wider, before her face went alert as she remembered something. “OH, that’s right! A group of people arrived last night after you went to bed. Said they were old friends of yours. They’re in the barracks right now.” Angela raised her eyebrows. _Old friends?_ She quickly made her way to the large tent. As she got closer, she heard a loud booming laugh that instantly warmed her heart.

She stepped inside, and saw a large group of soldiers surrounding a large man in a giant set of mechanical armor. Reinhardt Wilhelm, one of the original members or Overwatch, was swooshing his arms around, no doubt telling a grand story about defeating some nefarious villain. He saw Angela walking towards him, and immediately made his way over, pushing soldiers out of his way, a giant grin on his face. “ANGELA!!!!” He bellowed, picking her up and hugging her. “How are you, _kamerad?”_

Angela replied calmly, smiling at the gentle giant. “I’m fine Reinhardt, but what are you doing here? I thought you were still in Germany?” Reinhardt put her down and simply shrugged, “Not anymore, got sick of being lazy. And we were in the area and though we’d check in!” Angela raised her eyebrow, “Who’s we?” Reinhardt gestured behind him to 4 other figures. The from left to right there was a young woman with dark blonde hair and a dirty t-shirt, a man completely clad in silver armor with a green visor, a woman wearing a set of blue combat fatigues and finally a man leaning back with an old cowboy hat on and a cigar in his mouth, his arm comfortably around the woman in blue.

Angela gasped, “Genji!! Bridgette!! Fareeha!! Jesse!!” The four of them got up and walked over, in various stages of giddiness. Genji hugged her, giving her a formal “Good to see you, _ishi._ ” Angela returned the hug, before moving on to Fareeha and Bridgette, who both gave her a hug while saying “Great to see you, Ang!” And finally McCree, who gave her a big crushing hug. “What are all of you doing here? Genji, I thought you were still training with Tekhartha Zenyatta?” Genji nodded, “Master Zenyatta felt that we should put what I’ve learned to use, so we’ve been traveling across the world, helping any way we can.” Angela raised her eyebrows, “Where is he, by the way?” Genji shrugged, “I believe he said he was going to meditate.” Reinhardt began chuckling, “There isn’t a minute in the day that bot won’t start meditating, given the chance.” He gave Genji a friendly slap on the back, “Bridgette and I have been traveling with them since we met up in Azerbaijan. Defeating bandits, mercenaries, and other ruffians. Which reminds me, I was in the middle of telling a story!” He began walking back to the circle of soldiers, Genji and Bridgette following behind.

Angela turned to Fareeha and McCree. “How about you two? What brings you guys here?” Both Jesse and Fareeha shrugged, “We both were in the area and saw that our old friend needed help.” Angela raised her eyebrows, “Jesse, last I checked you were in America. What are you doing in Iraq?” Jeese smiled, “Well, did you hear about the guy who stopped a bunch of Talon agents from hijacking a train? That was me.” Fareeha picked up his story for him. “Helix Security was looking for another sharp shooter, we made him an offer and he _eventually_ accepted. Some stipulations about posting and uniform.” McCree chuckled, putting his arm around her. “Hey, I’m gonna go grab something to eat, you need anything, babe?” Fareeha smiled and put a quick kiss on his cheek, “Nothing right now, maybe just water. Thanks, _habib._ ” Jesse walked off towards the mess tent, and Angela noticed he wasn’t as slouched as usual. Angela smiled, “So you two are…?” Fareeha nodded, smiling brightly. “It’s much better than when we were trying to hide it.” Angela laughed, remembering the time Jack and her caught Fareeha and Jesse in the med-bay, like a couple of guilty teenagers.

Angela and Fareeha both walked over to listen to Reinhardt’s story, which was about how he and Genji stopped a group or bandits from attacking a small village in Jordan. Reinhardt was considered the unit grandpa, telling stories complete with sound effects, while Genji filled in the plotholes. Then they finally got into older stories; about exploding an Omnic factory, about McCree’s first mission in Overwatch and the story about how Winston joined, a genius ape that dropped from space and asked to join the most elite organization on the planet. Angela mostly stayed quiet, adding a few missing details or fixing those that Reinhardt had exaggerated.

They kept telling stories, even some of the soldiers pitched in stories from their careers, even Captain Shepard pitched in a story about helping hold off a group of rogue mercenaries from attacking a village in Germany. They were all smiling, loving the company. Suddenly, a ringing went out. A very familiar tone.

Angela exchanged looks with all of her former Overwatch comrades, the tone continuing. They all knew what that sound meant. _All Overwatch agents to report for mission debriefing._ They all excused themselves for dinner, before checking their phones.

Sure enough, the Overwatch logo was blinking on their screens.

They all looked at each other, wondering what to do. Overwatch had been disbanded, and any active agents considered fugitives. “Well, something has to be up.” Jesse said flatly. They all nodded, not knowing what to add.

Suddenly, a video started playing. Winston was sitting at his desk, a script in his hand. He coughed, then began reading a rough history of Overwatch, how talented individuals from across the globe joined together to help try and solve the worlds troubles. Images flashed of Jack, Gabe, Reinhardt Torbjörn and Ana fighting in the Omnic crisis, then an award ceremony of all of them with Angela, Jeese, Lena and Winston joining them at the first anniversary of peace. Winston continued about how they were champions for peace and all mankind had to offer. How they helped bring in a new age of humanity. Then they heard him sigh.

The video cut back to Winston sitting at his desk. “You already know this…” He took a deep breath, “Look, the people decided they were better off without us. They even called us criminals! They tore our family apart. But look around!” Suddenly several images appeared before them, a Omnic shot in Tokyo, the recent bombing in Numbani, a destroyed railway in Arizona, and Omnic & Human violence in Russia and London. “Someone has to do something! WE have to do something!” Winston came back into view, his script cast away. “We can make a difference again! The world needs us now, more than ever! So…” Winston removed his glasses, looking directly into the camera, directly at the group. “Are you with me?”

They all reported in. After about a minute, Winston suddenly called Reinhardt.  “Winston.” Reinhardt answered. “Hello Reinhardt. Just wondering; why are there 5 of you in the same place?” Reinhardt smiled sheepishly, “Well, we all decided to meet up here and help in the relief efforts. Hey, look!” Reinhardt turned around, making sure to get everyone into the frame. Winston smiled and waved, “Hello everyone!” All of them waved back, before Angela tentatively asked, “Winston, why are we all being recalled now? Something had to change, what is it?” Winston coughed, “I’ll fill you all in when you get to Watchpoint Gibraltar. But suffice to say that Talon is involved. The transport will be there in 2 hours.” The video cut.

“2 hours!” Angela cried, “That’s barely enough time to pack! Plus I have to tell the camp I’m leaving, I…” Reinhardt held up his hand, smiling “We will take care of your equipment, Zeigler. You can talk with your people and make sure you can leave.” Angela smiled, “It’s more clothes than equipment, Reinhardt. But thank you.” Angela walked over to the med tent, heading towards the office. She noticed there were two figures, Victoria’s and an Omnic’s, who was sitting down. In the air. She entered, and saw an Omnic wearing heavy, religious looking robes floating while talking with Dr. Thane. Both the Omnic and Thane turned to face Angela, the Omnic saying in an overly polite and formal voice, “Oh, hello! You must be Dr. Zeigler. Genji has told me so much about you. All good things, rest assured. My name is Zenyatta.” The Omnic bowed his head.

Angela smiled and nodded at the Omnic, “Pleased to meet you, Zenyatta. Excuse me, but Dr. Thane, I need to speak to you.” Thane stood up, “Of course, doctor. Good bye, Tekhartha Zenyatta.” The Omnic bowed his head once again, “It was my pleasure, Doctor Thane.” Angela walked out of the office, Victoria in tow. “Victoria, something has come up, and I need to leave.” Angela turned around to face a surprised Dr. Thane. “I’m sorry this is on such short notice, but it is extremely important.” Dr. Thane nodded, “I understand, ma’am. It’s been such an honor working with you.” She stuck her hand out. Angela took it, smiling warmly, “The pleasure has been mine. If anything happens, here’s the number of the director. She’ll be able to get you almost anything you need. Good luck, Victoria.”

She turned to go to her room and help with the packing. She arrived, her friends having packed most of her stuff in a large duffle bag. Reinhardt of course offered to help carry it, but Angela insisted she do it. Genji raised his hand, “Guys, do you know if Winston would be recruiting people?” Reinhardt and Jesse shrugged, Angela asking “Who do you have in mind, Genji?” Genji gestured to Zenyatta. “Master Zenyatta would be willing to join us if it would help bring peace across the world.” Reinhardt smiled and nodded, “He would make a fine addition to the team. I can vouch for his capabilities in combat.” Angela was surprised at his candidness, but agreed.

About an hour later, a large cargo craft arrived, and Reinhardt, Bridgette, Genji, Zenyatta, Fareeha, Jeese and Angela all boarded, heading for Gibraltar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I ship Pharah/McCree. I like the fact they both are crazy for JUSTICE, and now that Ana's in the game, could you imagine the dialogue? "You always were a charmer. Also, really, my daughter?" Might do a piece about them meeting up and rekindling later.  
> As always, criticism and advice are always welcome! Thanks for reading!


	6. A Soldier once again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack decides to crash Talon's little meetup, but things go south.

Dorado, 8 pm.

After dropping the money off at a homeless shelter, Jack set off for the old factory. The factory wasn’t that far from where Jack saved the kid yesterday. He parked the Mustang at the same lot. He opened the trunk, revealing a veritable arsenal; ammo, back up parts, an old SR-25 designated marksman rifle and several magazines and clips for all of his weapons. He rummaged through, grabbing the DMR, an advanced radio jammer he nabbed from Grand Mesa and one of Angela’s medical devices. He made his way to the factory, taking the rooves again.

He finally arrived at the factory, setting up the SR-25. It was an old rifle, but it still looked factory fresh, outside of the suppressor, the aftermarket stock and the completely next gen scope. So, not factory fresh at all. It used to be Ana’s before Torbjörn started to build her completely new rifles from the ground up. Compared those, this thing was pretty mediocre. But it’s hard to compare to near perfection. The position Jack chose was inside the factory, behind a set of old boxes. He flipped the bipod down and rested the rifle on top of the boxes, then hooked up the scope to his visor, and decided whether or not to use “autoaim” when they finally arrived. He decided to play it safe and use it, at least for the suit.

They finally arrived at 9 on the dot, in a giant SUV. _At least they’re punctual._ Jack flipped off the safety and assumed the proper firing position. He waited until they were all out, counting each one. _Four, but where’s Mr. Suit?_ A man in red shades and a suit finally stepped out of the vehicle, adjusting his cufflinks. _Heh. Agent Smith, huh?_ Jack whispered softly, “Visor begin recording.”

Jack rested his cheek on the rifle, setting the cross hairs on the head of the left most guard. Jack zeroed in, breathing out and steadying himself before squeezing on the trigger. The rifle made a soft “pshht” and moved back into Jack’s shoulder, while the guards head exploded. Jack moved the gun to the next target, and repeated the process on the next guard. The agent froze for a second before sprinting away, yelling at his guards. The final two guards didn’t stand much of a chance, both of them getting shot before they could even ready their weapons. Jack pulled out his USP and pursued the agent. The agent climbed up a fire escape, now running along the roof tops.  Jack quickly followed, switching his tactical visor on. “VISOR, NON-LETHAL SHOTS ONLY!” Jack yelled, and the visor’s reticle shifting to a blue. Jack sprinted forward, before pulling up his pistol and firing three shots. Each shot found their target, in the knees of the agent. “ARGH, SUNOVABITCH!!”

Jack moved up quickly, his USP still drawn. The agent looked up at the visor, and immediately grabbed something from his pocket, rapidly pressing the button. Jack recognized immediately that it was a distress beacon and activated his jammer. “Nice try, but no dice. And now I know where your buddies are, so thank you.” As Jack kicked the beacon out of the agent’s hands, a location appeared on his HUD, what looked like an industrial farmstead on the outskirts of town. _So that’s their base, huh? Looks pretty big._ He turned to the agent. “So, do you know who I am?” The agent grunted, “Da, you’re Soldier 76.” He responded in a thick Russian accent, “You’re ze asshole whose been ruining our operations.” Jack readied his boot back, kicking the agent’s head like a football. “Not a smart idea to call your interrogator an asshole, just sayin’. So, what is Talon doing here?” The agent was still dazed from the kick, “Fuck off, _zalupa_.” Jack holstered his pistol and grabbed the agent by his throat. Jack kneed the agent in the groin before delivering a series of punches to the agents head.

“ _BOG GREBANYY CHERT POBERI!!!_ Just stop!!!” Jack hoisted him up, his visor inches from the agent’s face. “There are several parts.” The agent explained, “First is to cripple de new LumeriCo power plant, zen incite anti-Omnic violence via supporting the Los Muertos gang. The last is to investigate a series of attacks on Talon.” Jack smiled, “So you were sent to investigate me?” The agent groaned “Yes and no. There are two separate individuals attacking us. You and someone else.” Jack nodded, “Who?” The agent smiled, “Try saying please.” Jack punched the agent in the temple, sending him to his knees, before promptly kneeing him in the jaw.

“Pwease?” Jack responded, his voice mockingly sweet. The agent responded, his voice slurred via a disconnected jaw. “We dunt kno who sche isss. All we kno isss sche’ss a scniper.” _A sniper, huh?_ “And you’ll nevver find out who sche iss, _mudak.”_ The agent sneered, the beacon back in his hands. He pressed the button and it began to flash and beep, increasing in tempo. _Fuck._  

Jack turned and ran, barely 15 feet away, when the detonation hit him, flinging him off the roof. He began spinning, and then felt his back hit something, and then impact the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Immediately, his Visor began to flash a warning; _“Lacerations and broken bones detected, heavy blood loss and internal bleeding likely, seek medical attention”_ Jack tried to get up, grunting and growling through the pain. He stood up, looking at his surroundings; he surmised that he had fallen into a dingy alley. Attempting to take a step, he felt extreme pain shoot through his leg, and collapsed on the ground. _C’mon. Get up._ He tried again, before hearing faint pitter pattering behind him. “Who…!” He spun around, his pistol drawn, before collapsing again. Suddenly, he was face to face with some familiar brown eyes. “Hello again, _Señor_ 76.” She said, almost cautiously. Jack holstered his pistol, “Hey, kid.”

The little girl got underneath his arm, shouldering some of his weight. She began carrying him out of the alley, “Are you ok?” she said. Jack grunted, “I’ve been worse than this, kid.” Which was true, a building had fallen on him, after all. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you to my Mamá’s house; she can help you.” Jack was about to try and voice protest, but she shushed him. “Mamá will want to thank you any way.” Suddenly remembering, Jack manually triggered the visor to end it’s recording. He’ll edit out the girls face later. Soon they arrived at a small, homey bakery, the little girl pushing the door open.

“Mamá!! We have a visitor!!” A light grunt came from a room Jack assumed was the kitchen. “Ally, what have I told you about guests?” A pretty, ponytailed woman with the same eyes as her daughter walked in, eyeing the large, masked man that was currently bleeding on her floor. Her eyes widened, “Sit down. I’ll call an ambulance.” Jack raised his hand, “Wait, please no hospitals!” Jack grunted, letting his body fall against the wall.

“Ki-Ally, right?” The young girl nodded her head. “Alright Ally, listen; do you have cleaning supplies?” The girl shot Jack a confused look, “Yes. They’re in the kitchen.” Jack groaned, “Alright, can you please go get them?” Ally nodded again and ran off, while Jack began taking off his jacket. He reached into his vest, and pulled out the medical device. “Right, if there ever was a time to use this, it’s now.” He planted it on the ground, and immediately a large yellow burst fired from it, illuminating the room. Jack felt a slight sense of warmth, feeling his wounds beginning to heal and his bones begin to mend. Jack sighed, flexing his arm. He was sore, but other than that he was good as new.

Jack looked over at the woman, her face a mix between shock and relief. “Are you feeling alright? Do you need anything?” Jack stood up, stretching his newly healed body. “Water, if you don’t mind?” The woman nodded, going into the kitchen just as Ally came back with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. “Here’s the cleaning stuff.” Jack nodded, “Thanks.” He quickly grabbed the sponge, wetted it in the soapy water and quickly took to scrubbing the blood stains on the floor. “Oh! Mister, you really don-” Jack held up his hand, “Kid, you dragged me from an alley back to your house, where I bled over everything. This is the least I can do.” Jack made quick work of the stains, handing Ally back the cleaning supplies. Jack grabbed his jacket, looking it over. _Great, that’s two this week._ The jacket was torn and burned, but he was surprised that it didn’t have bloodstains on it anywhere. _Maybe the nano machines took care of it?_ Suddenly, he heard a small chime from the device followed by it speaking; “ _Biotic field recharged, ready for use.”_ Jack recognized the voice instantly, even though the speaker. _Good to hear your voice, Angel._ He mused on that, before he heard a door creak open.

The woman came back with a glass of ice water. “Thank you, ma’am.” Jack pulled the metal mouth guard off of his mask, and began gulping down the water. The woman gasped, seeing his heavily scarred face. “My goodness! Are you sure you’re fine?” Jack turned to her, and for once he was able to flash his old trademark smile. “You’re very nice to be concerned, but trust me, I’m fine.” The woman smiled back, an almost dreamy look coming to her eyes. “Thank you for saving my daughter by the way, _Señor Héroe.”_ She purred, catching his eyes through the visor. Jack waved his hand, “Just doing my job.” Jack felt his face getting warm; it really had been a long time since anyone showed him any emotion outside of sheer terror. She began stepping towards him; a slow, almost enticing saunter. But all that did was remind him of Angela.

Jack quickly attached his mask to hide his blush. The woman smiled at him, “Doesn’t the hero get a kiss?” Jack rubbed his neck, trying to think of a way out of this. “Well… yeah, but I’m already with someone.” He hoped those words would stop her. She froze, “Really? A married vigilante?” Her voice was almost accusatory. “Well, no. But… it’s complicated. I’m sorry, I just don’t feel comfortable going behind her back.” Her face softened, “Oh. I’m sorry.” Jack raised his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Thank you for the water, I’ll get out of your hair now.”

As he handed her the glass, she grabbed his shoulder with her other hand. “Please stay safe. You’ve helped this town so much, made everyone’s lives so much better. The world needs more people like you. So please; stay safe.” Jack nodded, “I’ll do my best, ma’am.” He gently broke her grip, and Ally walked back into the room. Jack nodded at her, “Thanks for the help, Ally.” She smiled at him. Suddenly a though occurred to him. “Hey, catch.” He tossed the white jacket to Ally, who caught it with both arms. There was no way it would fit her, but still she beamed. “I’d wash it, and it might need some stitching, but it’s a really good jacket.” He flashed her a quick salute before grabbing the biotic field and walking back into the night. And for once, he felt like he was back in Overwatch again.

He made his way back to the factory, picking up the SR-25 and running back to the Mustang. He needed to get back to base and pull together information. He stuffed the rifle into the trunk, as well as the biotic field and jammer. He sat down in the driver’s seat, sinking deep into the leather. _So, Talon is planning to attack the LumeriCo power plants, and they are here in force and could be expecting me._ The whole situation just got a lot more complicated. Jack looked over the evidence, the Talon HQ in particular. The satellite image didn’t show too much, but it did show the place was big. Could easily hold 50 or more Talon operatives _How the fuck am I gonna do this?_ He mused as he turned over the engine.

He pulled into the warehouse, stepping out of the car. He was still deciding what to do about Talon, should he just sneak in and plant a bomb or just straight up assault it like the Muertos HQ. And then he heard it. A faint three tone chirp, one he always hoped, but never thought, he would ever hear again. He sprinted to his old phone. The Overwatch crest flashed on the screen, and Jack considered his options. On the one hand, if Overwatch was back, then he could get some help from them with Talon. Hell, maybe after he could join them, be a proper soldier again, have a purpose outside of putting the beat down on bad guys. On the other hand, that would increase the likelihood that he would be found out _._

_“Disgraced former Overwatch commander Jack Morrison turned rogue vigilante.”_ He could only imagine how much of a field day the tabloids would have with that. And he didn’t know if he could face the old faces. Reinhardt, Jesse, Winston, Lena and Torbjörn. But especially Angela. He didn’t know if he could handle actually coming face to face with her, after running away and hiding from the only person in the whole world who he could trust with anything. After breaking her heart and damn near betraying her. He didn’t know if he could face them all and still just remain Soldier 76.

_But shit, I’m gonna need some help to go after Talon._ He walked over to his computer, and began pooling together all the data he had on Talon. Every photograph, every video and every document he had. He put it into one email, along with the current GPS location of both the Talon base as well as his warehouse. He put ‘bananaluv@overwatch.org’, hopefully Winston’s old email still worked. Then typed in;

_Talon active in Dorado, Mexico. Plan on causing Omnic-Human violence and attacking or sabotaging LumeriCo power plant. Also supporting local criminal gangs and trafficking weapons. Need assistance to take out base, coordinates given. Also have heard Overwatch back in action. Would like to volunteer, already have some of your tech, only makes sense. Coordinates for my base given as well. Please consider._

_-S76_

He sent the email off. Maybe in the morning, he would get-

_*Bloop!* New message!_

_Heh, that quick?_ He opened the email.

_Who are you? How did you hear about the recall? It’s been less than 2 hours since that was called in. And what makes you think we need a thief in Overwatch?_

Jack smiled at the response. Good ol’ Winston.

_1, not important. 2, some of your old agents actually trust me, surprisingly. Won’t name names, but they let me know. And 3, you’ve seen the security footage from Grand Mesa, I’m sure. Look at my visor footage as well. I’m not some 2 bit black market dealer who took your fancy schmancy rifle and sold it to the highest bidder. I actually put that thing to better use than you or any of your agents ever would. And I’m pretty good at using it, too. Same for your visor and biotic field. Better actually getting used than just sitting in some place in the mountains. And you’re gonna need new agents. So I’d say Overwatch might not need a thief. But you can always use another soldier._

He sent the email. The response was almost immediate.

_I’ve got no agents available right now. But I’ll send 5 to your location as soon as possible. Will let you know when they are heading your way._

And just like that, Jack Morrison was a soldier again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! As always, advice and criticisms are always welcomed!


	7. Back at the Watchpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally arrives at Watchpoint Gibraltar to get debriefed on why the Recall was activated, and learns that they're going to be recruiting some new members soon.

Gibraltar, 1 am

The craft was about to touch down at the old watchpoint, after an hour long flight. Despite all the tension, they still made friendly conversation, wondering what would greet them when they landed. “I wonder what the place looks like now?” Fareeha wondered out loud. McCree shrugged, kicking his feet up and yawning, “Probably not good, but it depends how long Winston’s been here.” Reinhardt chuckled heartily, “I used to love getting stationed here. It would always do wonders for my tan.” Genji nodded, “I love the air here. Even when everyone was bustling around, it was always so crisp and cool.” Angela nodded along, remembering some fond memories. Testing the Valkyrie suit and the Caduceus staff, working on nanotechnology with Winston and just hanging around with all of the Overwatch members. Jack briefly flickered in her mind, before she was interrupted by the craft landing. “Welp, looks like we’re here.” McCree drawled, helping Fareeha stand up.

All of them grabbed their gear and began walking out. They all gasped. Outside of it being completely deserted, the watchpoint hadn’t changed at all. All of the lights were still on, the holograms showing directions still flashing. Even the rockets and jets were still parked, looking just as well kept as the day they left. They all began making their way to the labs, soaking in the old sights. Suddenly, a synthesized female voice came from above. “ _Ahh, there you all are. Welcome back, Agent Wilhelm, Mechanic Schmidt, Agent Shimada, Agent Fareeha, Agent McCree and Doctor Zeigler.”_ They all looked up, looking at a white hologram flashing in front of them. “Hello, Athena. How are you?” Genji asked. _“I am fine, although we did just came under attack from Talon, so the situation is “tense” to put it mildly.”_ The AI dryly reported, before the hologram floated over to Zenyatta, _“Hello, Tekhartha Zenyatta.”_ Zenyatta simply waved his hand. “Please, it’s just Zenyatta.” The hologram blinked green in affirmation. “ _Alright, Zenyatta. Welcome to Watchpoint Gibraltar.”_ The AI signed off, the hologram disappearing.

They continued to walk, eventually arriving in the labs; paperwork and holograms spread across the room. Winston was sitting in front of a set of screens, looking at a set of data, not noticing the group entering. Reinhardt laughed, “Winston!! Still got your face in a computer, I see!!” Winston perked up, turning to face all of them. “Indeed, always work to be done. Hello, everyone. Good to see you all.” Winston made his way down, hugs and greeting being given out. Finally, McCree piped up, “So, Athena said that Talon tried to attack you. Is that why we’re here?” Winston nodded, “Yes, but that’s not the only reason. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but Tekhartha Mondatta was assassinated earlier today by Talon.”

The group gasped, and Zenyatta knelt down in sadness. Winston continued, “Tracer tried to stop them, but the assassin…” Winston trailed off, finally noticing Zenyatta. His face dipped, and he removed his glasses. “I’m sorry we couldn’t prevent the death of your friend, Zenyatta.” Zenyatta nodded, “Please, do not apologize, I’m sure that you did all that you could. Mondatta knew that there are those in the world who do not want coexistence. Still, the world dimmer without his presence.” Winston nodded, “In any case, that’s just the first example of the current state of the world. Omnic and human violence is at the highest it’s been in almost 12 years, corporations are exerting their will on the poor, and recently I’ve received this.”

Winston pulled up a set of photos and documents, “Criminal gangs are left completely unchallenged, and worse, they seem to be getting supplied by Talon.” The group nodded, before Reinhardt spoke, “So, we’re bringing Overwatch back? Seems like a tall order, given that there’s only eight of us.” Wintson nodded, “For now, Tracer and I have been looking at possible recruitment options. We can fill you in on them now, or we…” **“NOW!!”** The entire group responded. Winston smiled, “Alright, let me get Lena. She’s been looking at candidates.” A cheery voice piped in behind them. “Already here, luv.” Lena Oxton, a short-haired, skinny English woman wearing a brown leather bomber jacket, yellow track pants and large glowing device on her chest was standing in the doorway. “Hello everyone!!” She began blinking between all of her old friends, giving each of them a tight hug. Angela was still surprised how young she looked, given Lena was technically around her age. Angela smiled down at her, “Still the same bundle of energy, huh Lena?”

Lena giggled, but finally saw Zenyatta. At first her face lit up, but then became crestfallen. “Are you Tekhartha Zenyatta?” The Omnic nodded, “You must be Lena Oxton. Genji said you were one of his best friends at Overwatch.” Lena flashed a quick smile at Genji, who just shrugged, “Well it’s true.” Lena looked back at Zenyatta, before solemnly saying “I’m sorry I couldn’t save Tekhartha Mondatta. He was a hero and inspiration to me.” Genji grabbed her by the shoulders, “It’s not your fault, Lena. Few would’ve been able to take a Talon agent and survive.” The Omnic nodded, adding, “My student is correct. Mondatta would be honored to know that an Overwatch agent held him in such high regard.” Lena’s smile returned, beaming at Zenyatta before walking over to the computer.

“Alright, everyone! Here’s who I’ve been looking at recruiting.” Several images appeared on the screen, depicting several people from across the globe. “So, first up is Lúcio Correia dos Santos, a musician from Brazil.” A picture of a skinny dreadlocked man appeared on the screen. He was wearing a no sleeve shirt, headphones and a very impressive set of leg armor. “He has been leading a group of resistance fighters against the Vishkar Corporation, who have been trying to build over his home favela in Rio de Janeiro. He is extremely talented, and is already willing to join Overwatch.” The group nodded, before a picture of a young woman with brown hair appeared on the screen. “Next, Hana Song. She’s a Korean Meka pilot. She may not look like much, but she pilots this…” A gigantic pink mech appeared on screen, armed to the teeth and standing 9 feet tall. Reinhardt held up his hand excitedly, “Wait a moment; isn’t that D.Va? The StarCraft player?” Lena nodded, “She’s been helping her government fight rogue Omnics, and would make a very valuable addition to the team.” Lena flipped to her final recruitment selection, a muscular pink haired woman carrying what looked like a particle cannon. “Aleksandra Zaryanova, a soldier in the Russian Army, as well as one of the strongest women alive.” McCree wolf-whistled before Fareeha delivered a swift punch to his bicep. “She’s an extremely talented soldier, and would definitely make an excellent addition to the team.” Lena glanced at Zenyatta, “Unfortunately, she really, REALLY doesn’t like Omnics, which could be a problem for… Ummmmm, ‘unit cohesion’.” Lena perked up a little bit, smiling and standing on her tips toes. “That’s about it! Winston, you have some options?”

Winston straightened out his glasses, looking over and bringing up several professional looking dossiers. “Thank you, Lena. Yes, I have a couple of options, some of whom have already accepted. The first is our old friend Torbjörn Lindholm, who needs to be picked up in Russia.” Reinhardt clapped his hands, “ _Wunderbar!!_ Maybe now, Bridgette can finally get a break.” Bridgette elbowed him in the ribs, not that it did much through the armor. Winston nodded, “Indeed, and we can use his engineering genius around here. Next up, Watchpoint Antarctica recently sent out a distress signal. That facility has been lost for five years, and Mei-Ling Zhou, an extremely talented climatologist and scientist, is still alive down there. We have to go there and get her out of there.” Angela raised her head, “Mei is still alive?” Winston nodded, “Her cryopod is showing strong vital signs, but we must get to her quick.” Mei was one of Angela and Jack’s friends, back when Overwatch was first started. In fact she was the first person who they revealed their relationship to. As Angela recalled, there was much squealing and many forms of the phrase "Oh my god!".

Winston coughed, before bringing up the final dossier. “I assume you all have heard about Soldier 76?” They all nodded, Fareeha scowling at the name. “He’s the bastard who stole the tech and beat up my friends at Grand Mesa.” Winston grunted in affirmation, “Yes, but he has been sending me info anonymously about Talon’s activity. And recently he sent me this.” Winston pulled up the video of Soldier 76 crashing the los Muertos shipment, effortlessly defeating everyone who faced him, both in hand to hand and ranged combat.

Fareeha walked up and paused the video while 76 was beating a gang member with purple tattoos, with what appeared to be a pinata. “So he’s a vigilante with some stolen tech, I don’t see why we would want him here.” Her tone was poisonous, seething with anger and disgust. Winston coughed, “That’s what I though as well, but watch this.” Winston hit play again, and the video continued. The little girl appeared, the grenade was tossed and 76 sprinted and dove over it to save her, until finally he stood up and checked to make sure she was unharmed, before the video cut.

The entire group gasped at not only the fact that he was still standing after the explosion, but at how quickly he was to abandon his own safety to save an innocent. “So that’s why you’re interested in recruiting him.” Fareeha grumbled. Winston nodded, “Yes. There is no doubting this man’s talent, we’d be idiots to pass up someone like him. And his selflessness should be applauded.” Winston smiled, “And, at the very least, he has been field testing the rifle for us. Might be good to get some feedback on it. He has also produced solid evidence that a Talon cell is active in Dorado, and we are required to deal with any Talon activity we find.”

Winston coughed again, “Tomorrow we will begin to pick up these potential agents. For now, let’s get some shut eye. Angela, you can sleep in your old office, unless you would like to join Lena, Bridgette and Fareeha in the dormitories?” Angela shook her head, “I am perfectly fine with my old office, thank you Winston.” Jesse began leading all of the men to the male dorms and Lena led the women to their dorms. Angela made her way through the facility, back to the old med office. She was surprised how well kept it was. Even the bed was made, with big, soft pillows that looked like heaven given how tired she was. _Athena or Winston did a marvelous job, I should thank them in the morning._ She dropped her bag, finally realizing how heavy it had been. _I can sort my clothes tomorrow._

She immediately took off the Valkyrie suit, let her hair down before jumping into bed and hoping sleep would come quick. Instead, old delayed memories came. Tending to the wounds and ails of agents, developing new technologies, working to solve the world’s problems. She smiled, but her mind eventually found its way back to Jack. She reminisced on the times he would bring her lunch, and when he would talk with her about her day, always listening. She remembered how he would always have the AC maxed out so they had no choice but to cuddle for warmth, to her (partial) chagrin and his pleasure. “ _Sie schlauer Teufel, Jack.”_   (You sly devil) She smiled to herself, before grabbing one of the pillows and hugging it, trying to emulate that he was there.

It wasn’t a good substitute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As always, advice and criticism are always welcome!


	8. Overwatch, dismissed!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Overwatch crew sets off to get new agents. Pretty much just some character stuff.

8 am, Watchpoint Gibraltar

Angela stirred from her sleep, the sun finally breaking through the window. She quickly got up, tying her hair up again, before putting on her old Overwatch uniform, basically her Valkyrie suit, but without the wings and slightly less armor. She made her way to the common room, finding McCree, Fareeha and Bridgette were already having breakfast. Angela grabbed a bowl, filling it with Greek yogurt, fruit and granola. She sat down next to them, “Good morning, did you all get a good night’s sleep?” McCree grunted, “After sleeping on train cars, an actual bed is kinda luxurious.” Fareeha and Bridgette both nodded, Bridgette adding “I’m always surprised how comfortable the beds are here.” Fareeha chuckled, “Well, with UN funding they probably could spare something for good beds.”

Angela chuckled, before turning to her breakfast. After living on prepackaged food for months, the actually fresh food was heavenly. McCree turned to his bacon and eggs, noisily eating. “What do think Winston’s gonna assign us to do today?” He spoke, mouth still full of food. Fareeha elbowed him in the ribs, “Where are your table manners?” McCree smiled, bacon and egg still in his teeth. “I dunno, lost’em a while ago.” Fareeha rolled her eyes, “Anyway, I bet Winston’s going to have us go retrieve those potential agents. No idea how he’s going to split us up.” McCree nodded, swallowing before he began talking, “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinkin’.” Suddenly, the loudspeaker cracked, and Winston’s voice spoke above them, “Everyone, please report to the cafeteria for breakfast and mission briefing. Thank you.”

Soon, everyone else arrived and grabbed food, sitting around the table, making idle chit chat before they got their assignments. Winston walked to the head of the table, “Good morning everyone. I hope you all found your accommodations comfortable, we’ll be getting more supplies in soon. Anyway, here are the teams; Fareeha, McCree, Tracer and I will go to Brazil and pick up Lúcio, and then move up to Dorado to help assist Soldier 76. Angela, Genji and Zenyatta, you will be going to Antarctica to rescue Mei, then move up to Korea and pick up Hana. Reinhardt and Bridgette will go to Russia and pick up Torbjörn and Zarya. We leave at 11 o’clock, so after breakfast I suggest you prepare. Good luck.”

Angela scooped the last bit of granola, savoring the sweet and crunchy taste before going back to the lab. She looked over the Valkyrie suit, checking to make sure the suit was working properly. _Seals, check. Wing jets, check. HUD, check._ She mused, making sure that she wasn’t forgetting anything. _Well, we are heading into Antarctica, possibly the coldest place on earth. Might be smart to bring something warm to wear._ Angela grabbed a thicker shirt and leggings, before putting on the Valkyrie suit. She grabbed an old yellow scarf that Jack had bought her. She wrapped it around her neck, before putting on the final piece of armor, the halo. The armor booted up, sounding several calming chimes. “ _Armor ready to use, Dr. Zeigler_ ” She grabbed her small blaster, holstering it before finally grabbing her Caduceus staff, and setting off for the planes.

Angela walked over to the hangar, where Reinhardt, Bridgette, Genji, Fareeha and McCree were all waiting. Reinhardt was wearing his full set of armor and carrying a large rocket propelled hammer, Bridgette was carrying a small arc welded and a small black bulletproof vest over her dirty coveralls, Genji had his trusty katana _Doragon no Tsubasa,_ or “Dragonblade”, in a sheath on his back and several small shuriken, McCree was wearing his old duster and BAMF buckle, a set of light body armor covering his chest and his large frame revolver in a holster and Fareeha was wearing a large set of blue jump-jet armor styled after a falcon and carrying a large rocket launcher. It was still 25 minutes until they needed to take off, so they spent the time chatting and waiting for the others to turn up.

Angela turned to Reinhardt, “Reinhardt, are you sure it is a smart idea to bring Bridgette along with you to a combat zone?” Bridgette scoffed, “I’m 28, Angela; I can handle myself. Plus, people usually start running the other way once they see Reinhardt.” Reinhardt put a hand on Bridgette’s shoulder, “She has made her choice, there’s no-one I would rather fight alongside!” Genji crossed his arms and huffed, faking sadness. Reinhardt laughed, “I suppose I could make room for a ninja too.” A light voice perked up behind him, “And a time traveling adventurer?” Lena walked up, carrying two pulse pistols and wearing a set of orange googles on top of her usual outfit. “Of course!” Reinhardt responded, clapping her on the back.

Fareeha looked over at Lena, “So, what’s the plan to get Lúcio?” Lena smiled, “We’re just picking him up at a location just outside of Rio. He’s already agreed and knows we’re going up to Mexico afterwards.” McCree nodded, “Outside of the fancy pants, what else does he have?” Lena rubbed her chin, “He has an experimental weapon that uses sound waves to either shoot small projectiles or create large shock waves. He also has developed a form of healing that uses music to help deliver nanomachines to multiple targets.”

Angela perked her head up, “I’ve heard about this! ‘Nano-aura’, I believe was the name. Early trials suggest that the treatment is very effective, but they couldn’t find an effective way to spread the nano-machines.” Lena nodded excitedly, “Lúcio discovered that soundwaves proved to be extremely effective as a transportation medium.” Fareeha tilted her head, “So he can heal us? Good, with Angela and Zenyatta going to Antarctica I thought we could use another healer.” Angela looked at Fareeha and smiled, “Well, not completely; I believe our masked friend has stolen several biotic field devices I had developed when he raided Grand Mesa.” Fareeha scowled, “Right. Forgot about that.”

Winston and Zenyatta finally arrived, 10 minutes before take-off. “Okay everyone, final briefing; Angela, Genji and Zenyatta, you’re Yellow team. Go to Antarctica and rescue Mei. After that, pick up Hana, she will be waiting for you in Seoul. You aren’t likely to face combat, but remain cautious.” Angela nodded, smiling at Genji and Zenyatta. “Reinhardt and Bridgette, you’re Red team. Both Torbjörn and Zarya should be waiting for you in Moscow, but be warned that it is still a combat zone. Everyone else is Blue team. We will be picking up Lúcio in Rio before meeting this Soldier 76 character at his safe house near Dorado, where we will join up with him to strike Talon. Expect heavy combat. Any questions?” Everyone shook their heads, “Alright; Overwatch, dismissed!!”

Angela climbed into a V-26C Osprey II, a large jet driven VTOL craft, plugging in the coordinates for Watchpoint Antarctica. The craft began warming up, while Angela, Genji and Zenyatta all buckled themselves into their seats. A synthetic voice spoke, “Hello, I am Hermes, your autopilot. Is everyone ready to take off?” Genji nodded, “Ready to go.” Shortly followed by Zenyatta and Angela. “Alright, please remain seated and enjoy your flight. Time of flight; Estimated 9 hours.” Angela sighed, leaning back in her seat while Zenyatta piped up positively, “Plenty of time for meditation!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, advice and criticism are welcome!


	9. On the offensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack helps the Overwatch crew assault Talon's Dorado base, seeing some old faces as well as some new ones.

11 am, Dorado

Jack had checking and rechecking his gear since he woke up at 8, loading up magazines and pulse clips. By now, he probably had loaded up enough ammo to supply a battalion, and had checked his gear about 7 times. He had his old red, white and blue jacket stitched up, and put a pair of new set of armor plates in his vest. Winston sent him a message a couple hours ago, saying that they were “expecting to arrive at around 12”, but knowing Winston, it would probably be around 11:30. Jack had no idea who was coming, whether it was going to be old faces or fresh ones, but he decided to play it safe. The audio-distort function on his mask was almost maxed out, making his voice deeper and somehow even more gravely. He decided that after the eighth time checking his gear, he should probably have breakfast, grabbing a packet of beef jerky and a water bottle. He ate ravenously, wolfing down the pack in about a minute. He quickly opened the water, gulping the bottle down in 15 seconds.

He turned to his kit, and began putting it on. Vest, jacket, then gear; a routine he could do blindfolded at this point. He turned to his arsenal, picking up the pulse rifle and slapping a fresh plasma clip inside, and doing the same with the USP, the magazine clicking into place, racking the slide so a .45 ACP round was nestled neatly in the chamber. He clipped the pulse rifle into a sling, letting it hang around his neck.

Suddenly, he heard the loud noise of a jet engine flying overhead, the noise shaking the warehouse. Jack checked his watch. _Huh, 11:34._ Jack began to walk outside, where a C-26 Globemaster IV, an extremely large VTOL cargo craft, landed only 200 feet from his base. 5 figures were already walking off, heading towards him. He could already tell that one silhouette, the large, gorilla shaped one, was Winston. As they got closer, he could recognize two more. Lena Oxton and Jesse McCree. Lena was still wearing her usual getup, a brown flight jacket and her twin pistols, while Jesse had unsurprisingly stuck to his guns, literally. _That magnum has to be over 30 years old by now. And still wearing that damn belt buckle._ Jack rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself.

He couldn’t make heads or tails of the other two. The first was a large figure dressed in heavy blue armor and carrying a massive rocket launcher, the other a small man with long dreadlocks and armor, but only on his legs. _He’s thinking about going into combat like that?_  He looked back at the large figure in blue armor, recognizing that it was a set of _Raptora Mark VI_ shock armor. _Damn. Last I checked, that thing was still only on paper. They’re actually fielding it?_ He couldn’t tell who was wearing it due to a large helmet styled after a falcon, but they were definitely female.

Jack walked up, rifle in hand. He coughed, checking the voice distortion was working. A deep and garbled noise escaped from him. _Well, that checks out._ Winston was the first to speak. “You’re Soldier 76?” Jack nodded, “Yes.” Jack decided to keep his responses short and terse. Winston began again, “I’m Winston, I’m sure you knew that.” Jack nodded, turning to the rest of the squad. Winston noticed, gesturing to each member, “That is Tracer, McCree, Pharah and Lúcio.” Jack nodded to the group, while Lúcio walked forward, offering his hand, a big smile on his face. Jack deliberated, before giving him a firm handshake. Lena soon followed, and he repeated the gesture. McCree and Pharah hung back, still weary of him. “Right.” Jack started, “So, we can head into my office. We need to plan how exactly we’re gonna take that HQ.” He turned, walking back into the warehouse, Winston, Lena and Lúcio following close, Pharah and McCree not so close.

He walked over to the equipment table, pulling up photos of their base, equipment and all the info he had on them. Both Lúcio and Tracer ignored this, instead walking over to Jack’s Mustang. “Whoa! Nice car, luv!” Jack smiled slightly, not wanting to get too far of track. “Thanks. But-” “How much horsepower?” Lúcio asked excitedly, skating around the car. “Around 600. But-“ ”Whoa, that’s wicked!” Lena burst out, “What’s she got, under ‘ere?”, Lena gestured to the vented hood. Jack coughed, “I’ll tell you later. Can we get down to business?” Lúcio and Tracer looked over at the other 4, Pharah tapping her foot impatiently. Tracer’s eyes widened, “Oh right, sorry!” She responded cheerfully, while Jack shook his head. _Hasn’t changed a bit._

Once the two of them rejoined the group, Jack immediately turned to the info. “Alright, listen up. Talon is set up in a facility to the north of Dorado. Size of the base indicates around 25 to 40 people inside. We go there, hit’em hard then get all the info we can. Assume all persons are hostile, but subdue and capture if possible. Any questions?” Pharah coughed, folding her arms over her chest. Jack turned to her, “Is there a problem?” Tracer smiled slyly, “Pharah and McCree are just angry cuz you beat up some of their friends at Grand Mesa.” Pharah scowled at her, while McCree spat on the ground. Jack looked over at Pharah and McCree, “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t want to hurt them.”

Pharah growled, “Sure, that’s why they all got concussions, fractured bones and severe bruising.” Jack folded his arms, “I said wanted to, not that I didn’t.”, he responded flatly. Lúcio snorted, while Pharah furiously stepped towards Jack. Winston immediately stepped between them, “Enough!! We don’t have enough people to have petty squabbles!” Pharah barred her teeth, while Jack merely shrugged. “I don’t have a problem working with any of you, I just want to make sure I won’t get a rocket in my back while I’m out there.” Winston nodded, before turning to Pharah. “We need to work together, Pharah. You can settle your differences later.” She sighed, defeated. “Alright. But I have my eye on you.” Jack nodded, “Right, so only one issue left; How are we going to get to the base?”

Winston gestured to the Globemaster, “We brought some of our old ground assault vehicles, but I’m not sure how well age has treated them.” Jack began walking to the plane, looking inside the loading ramp. 2 old US Cougar H armored vehicles were sitting in the back. Jack cracked a sly smile, “Been a while since I’ve seen one of these.” He stepped up to the rearmost one, patting the large spare tire, noticing they had been loaded for war, large machine guns on top. He opened the driver’s door, hopping into the seat.

He flipped several switches and the beast coughed into life, it’s diesel engine chugging happily. Jack smiled, looking at the mirror and seeing the group walking towards the truck. Tracer blinked next to Jack, “How’d you start this thing up so fast?” Jack froze. Not everyone knew how to start up old tech like this. _Shit. How are you going to explain this one?_ Jack decided the best policy is partial honesty. “I used to drive these all the time back when I was a Navy SEAL.” Tracer cocked her head, “You were a Navy SEAL?” Jack jumped out of the Cougar. “Yep. SEAL Team 2, then I got recruited into DEVGRU.” Jack lied. He was actually in the Army Green Beret’s, then CAG. “Wow! I bet you have some stories!” Tracer said hopefully. “Maybe.” Jack replied. Winston and the rest finally arrived, Jack turned to face them. “These’ll do nicely. Let’s get’em off the plane and load up.” Jack immediately started unbuckling the straps holding the rear truck, soon Tracer and McCree joined him. Soon, all for straps were off and Jack backed the Cougar down the loading ramp, before moving to the second truck.

Once both of the beasts were untethered, Jack spoke to the entire group. “Everyone locked and loaded?” Tracer whipped and spun her twin pistols, Pharah knocked her rocket launcher into battery and Lúcio fiddled with his sonic launcher. “All set, luv!” Tracer replied. Winston gave a thumbs up, “Alright. Soldier 76, set your radio to frequency 442.31 hertz.” Jack nodded, “Roger that.” He clicked his radio to the frequency. Winston turned to face the group, ”Load up into the trucks. Lúcio and Tracer, you two are with Soldier 76. Pharah and McCree, with me.” Jack hopped into the driver seat, firing up the engine. “So, who wants to take the turret?” He gestured over to a LCD display with a control panel infront of it. Lúcio raised his hand, “Sounds cool, how’s it work?” Jack pointed to the control panel. “Joystick controls direction, trigger fires the gun. Gun is stabilized, so just worry about direction.” Lúcio hopped into the seat, spinning the gun around. “Alright! Let’s do this.” Tracer pulled herself into the passenger seat.

The trucks set off, heading to the opposite side of Dorado. Jack’s truck took point, so he decided to try and keep up the pace. He turned to look at Lúcio, “You sure you’re up for this, kid? You’re not exactly equipped for a firefight.” Lúcio flashed him a smile and a quick thumbs up. “Trust me, I’m stronger than I look. I’ve been putting the hurt on those Vishkar _bastardos_ for a while now.” Jack had heard about the revolutionaries fighting down in Rio. Hell, he considered joining them once or twice before he found Talon was in Dorado. “Still, hit and run strikes are different than a straight up gun fight, kid. Stay with the group, well keep you alive.” Lúcio gave another thumbs up, “Okay 76!”

Jack kept to dirt tracks, circumnavigating Dorado itself. Talon would be paranoid after what he did to them last night, better to not drive through the city center. The Cougar kept rolling over everything that got in its way, the diesel engine happy it was finally at work again. “So, luv…” Tracer piped up from the back seat. “Hmm?” Jack grunted. “Why did you want to join Overwartch?” Jack paused, thinking of how to word it. “Well, I needed help to take on these assholes. But, not everyone has forgotten what you all did in the past. Figured I should join when I got told there was a recall.” Tracer slyly smiled, “You sure it isn’t just the company?” Jack rolled his eyes, “Sure. That’s pretty nice too.” The GPS blinked, one mile until they arrived. Jack clicked on his radio. “Alright, we are almost there. Get ready for hard contacts.”

He turned to Lúcio, “I want you to fire at anything holding a gun until I stop, then get out and follow my lead, you two.” Both of them gave a thumbs up.

_Half a mile to destination._

Jack stepped on the gas, the two ton behemoth sprinted forward. “Get ready, attack speed!” _Quarter of a mile until destination._ The dirt track became wider, before it opened into a clearing, a large compound ahead. “Lúcio, can you see anyone?” Lúcio nodded, “Looks like two snipers on the room and… rocket!” Jack turned hard to the left, just barely missing the RPG. “GET SOME FIRE ON THERE!!” Lúcio focused on the display, and Jack heard the sound of machine gun fire from above. “KEEP FIRING!” Jack ordered, swerving behind cover. “Got the rocket dude!” Lúcio pumped his fist. “Nice, go for the snipers!” Jack pulled next to a wall and hopped out of the truck, raising his rifle.

Tracer appeared behind him, her pistols drawn. Jack moved to the edge of the wall, peeking around the corner. 15 Talon soldiers were walking towards him, blasting away at the wall. Jack moved back as dust kicked up in front of him. Jack turned to face Tracer. “Back up the truck! Lúcio, get ready to fire!” Tracer flash back to the truck, and Jack began blasting at the soldiers. He hit two in the chest, before firing the helix rocket and blowing apart another 3. The truck backed up, and the machine gun tore apart the rest of them. Jack clicked the radio on, “Winston, where the hell are you?” Winston’s voice came through the radio, “On the other side of the compound. We’ll meet you up in the middle.” Jack waved Lúcio and Tracer over to him. “Nice job on the gun, Lúcio. But now we gotta move to the middle. Let’s go!” Jack raised his rifle before walking towards the center. Weirdly, Jack heard some electro music behind him. “Time to accelerate!” All of a sudden, Jack felt energized, like he was 20 years old. He sprinted ahead, Lúcio and Tracer just behind him. “Alright, keep movin’!” He rounded the corner, and 5 soldiers walking towards him. “Contact!” He took a knee, sending rounds into two of the agents. He heard Tracers pistols blasting away beside him, taking down another soldier. Jack launched his helix rocket, when suddenly there was pain in his right arm. He looked at it, seeing a bloody hole. _Oh fuck._

He was so used to being blown up, getting shot was an actual surprise now. “I’m hit!” He went to his belt for the biotic feild, but notice for some reason the wound was already healing up. “Oh, feel that healing beat!” Lúcio was playing another song, Jack’s wounds closing up. “What the hell?” Jack questioned, his arm completely healed. Lúcio smiled, “Nanomachines, man!” _Heh, makes sense. Techno-magic._ He gave Lúcio a thumbs up, before turning back to running. “Come on, let’s move.” The music started up again, and they were on the move.

They finally rejoined with Winston’s team, and began moving up to the center compound. Pharah was firing rockets at the roof, keeping the snipers at bay while McCree and Winston took out any of them on the ground. Jack’s team came behind them, blasting away at 3 Talon agents on the ground. “The cavalries here!” Tracer cheerfully piped. “Thanks, y’all.” McCree drawled “Maybe now, we can start moving.” Pharah shook her head, “Negative!! I’m going to take care of those snipers on the roof!!” Her armor fired up, launching her 40 feet into the air. She looked down and saw the two Talon snipers on the roof. Taking aim with her rocket launcher, she let lose 3 rockets, taking out one of the snipers. “Roof’s clear! Move up!”

Winston rallied to the others, “We’re almost there! Let’s keep moving!” The group advanced up, taking out every talon agent that got in their way. They were an amazing team, communicating and covering each other. Pharah kept in the air, raining rockets down on anyone trying to hide behind cover. Suddenly, the other sniper peeked out from behind cover, aiming his rifle and hitting Pharah in the abdomen. “I’M HIT!!”  Pharah screamed as her jets died. McCree raised his revolver, taking out the sniper with one headshot. “YOU ALRIGHT BABE!?” Jesse yelled into his radio. Pharah coughed, “think I’m good. My armor took most of it! Still could use some help!” Jack got up, “I’ll go make sure she’s fine.” Jesse grabbed him, “Not without me, buddy.” Jack growled, “Then get your ass in gear, cowboy.” He sprinted, heading towards where he saw her go down, McCree close behind him.

Pharah had crashed just outside of the compound, and between them and her were about 16 pissed off Talon agents. Jack and McCree moved quickly, dispatching agents quickly and efficiently. McCree took care of the shooters on the roof while Jack dealt with the soldiers on the ground. Jack took down two agents before moving up to the next piece of cover. _Just get there, a foot at a time._

They saw her lying on the grass, a large hole in the breastplate of her armor, her helmet knocked off by the crash. She was still firing her rocket launcher at any target she could see. Jack took a knee, whipping out the biotic field. He shook it and then planted it on the ground next to her. “You alright?” Pharah turned to face him, “Yes. Thank you.” Jack’s eyes widened behind his mask. _Fareeha?!_ Jack nodded, trying to cover her while she healed up. He was still taken aback by the fact that he was fighting alongside his best friend’s daughter. Hell, he helped train her back when she was a recruit. _Well, McCree calling her ‘babe’ might have been a giveaway._

Fareeha grabbed her helmet, “Alright, I’m good to go.” Jesse lent her a hand, while Jack radioed Winston. “Winston, we’ve got Pharah. She’s okay. We’re making our way back to you.” The radio squawked, “Good to hear, we’re about to search the building, get over here as soon as possible.” Jack turned to Fareeha and Jesse, who both nodded before following him back to the group. The gunfire had died down, clearly most of the Talon agents were taken care of.

Fareeha, Jesse and Jack rejoined Winston, Lúcio and Lena to make the final push; taking the factory. Jack faced the group, “Everyone stack up behind me, I’ll take point. Pharah, you stay out here and provide security. Your rockets are more of a liability in CQB.” Fareeha nodded, taking off again. Jack lined up on the door. “Ready?” He felt Tracer pat his shoulder, and kicked in the door. He moved right, scanning the room. “Tracer, on me. Everyone else, search the other side.” He moved quickly, through a long corridor. I’ll take the right rooms, you take left.” “Roger that!” Together they cleared the rooms, and quickly discovered they were all empty. “We’re clear over hear, Winston.” “Same thing over here.” Winston grunted, “Let’s keep searching.”

They kept clearing the building, eventually finding some more soldiers in a large central room. They were dispatched easily, and the team began searching for info on Talon. Most of the computers were scrubbed, but Winston would be able to pull something from them. Jack grabbed a couple of hard drives and datapads, stuffing them in to a bag and handing them to Winston. Tracer came back with several flash drives and journals. Winston spoke into his radio, “Clean sweep. Nice job team. Report back to me.” Soon, they had all gathered in the computer room with their findings, mostly some paper files and hard drives. Jack spoke up, “Right, let’s get back to my base.” Jack and Fareeha led the groups back to the Cougar trucks. Jack jumped into the driver’s seat, followed by Tracer and Lúcio.

This time, Winston’s truck led them back. Lena turned to Jack, stretching her skinny arms. “That was incredible. How you moved taking those Talon arseholes out.” Jack nodded, “That’s what years of special forces combat expertise looks like.” Lena smiled, “About that; How long were you a SEAL, 76?” Jack counted on his fingers, “About 16 years until I took my quiet retirement here.” Lucio piped up, “So about that Mustang…” Jack laughed, “Yes? What do you want to know?” Lucio and Tracer both fired off questions. “Where’d you get it?” “Did you modify it?” “Why a Mustang?” “Did you steal it?” Jack answered patiently, “I own it, it was my dad’s, so no I did not steal it. And I like the Mustang over the choice of stealing a car. Yes it is modified, it has a Shelby supercharger and transmission, double wishbone suspension, Brembo brakes and Nitto tires on Rota wheels. I think it makes something like 625 horsepower to the wheels.”

Lucio and Tracer kept the questions up until they finally reached the warehouse, asking if he had ever used it in a race and if they could take it one a joyride through Dorado. “Yes, I have raced it before. And not in Dorado, this place sucks for driving.” They all hopped out of the Cougar, stopping right beside Winston’s Cougar. Winston approached Jack, his hand outstretched. “Good job, 76.” Jack shook Winston’s hand, “It was nothing. Just glad I could help.” Winston smiled, “You did more than just help. I think it’s safe to say that we’d be glad to have you with us in Overwatch.” Tracer and Lucio both nodded, even Fareeha and Jesse were approving. “I’d be honored. Just one thing, I need to return this.” He pointed to the Mustang. “I borrowed it from my family, now that I’m with you I don’t think I’ll need it. Before you bring me to wherever your base is, I’d like to return it to them.” Winston nodded, “That should be doable. Load it up and tell us where the closest airport is.”

Jack packed his things quickly, he didn’t have much in the way of personal items. He moved all of the weaponry from the Mustang into one of the Cougars, and loaded and strapped the vehicles down with the rest of the team. As always, he had to do one final check, making sure nothing was left. Satisfied, he hopped on the Globemaster, giving Winston the coordinates of Indianapolis International Airport. He walked into the cargo bay, sitting into one of the shitty plastic seats along the side of the cargo bay. Only to be assaulted with more questions from Tracer and Lucio. Jack slumped in his seat, smiling.

_Just like old times, huh?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, advice and criticism are welcome!


	10. From the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela, Genji and Zenyatta wake up Mei from a nearly 6 year slumber, and have to fill her in. Then, to Korea to pick up Hana Song.

12 pm, Over the Atlantic Ocean

Angela was quietly looking at the layout of the Antarctic Watchpoint. She didn’t need to memorize it, since her suit had already downloaded the schematics beforehand. Still, she wanted to spend as little time on the cold base as possible. _It’ll be good to see Mei again._ She smiled. She wondered what Mei would look like. Being cryogenically frozen, she might not have aged a day. She would still be that adorably shy researcher that Jack somehow managed to befriend.

She shook her head, turning to focus on the schematics. She heard the pleasant ringing of bells from across the Osprey, and saw Zenyatta meditating, ringing the orbs that normally hung around his neck. It reminded Angela of the church bells in Zurich. “Sorry, he tends to do that. It helps him connect.” Genji’s robotic voice spoke to her left. Angela smiled, “Oh, don’t worry. I actually like it. Reminds me of home.” Genji sat down across from her, “For me as well. We used to have a meditation area in our temple, filled with wind chimes. It was probably the only truly peaceful place there, maybe in all of Hanamura.” Genji stopped, shaking his head. “Sorry, I got caught up in old memories.” Angela waved her hand, “Don’t worry, Genji. You aren’t exactly alone in that regard.” Genji nodded, “How so, _ishi_?”

Angela hummed, “I’ve just been thinking about Jack. I know it’s silly, but I miss him.” Genji shook his head, “I understand, _ishi_. When I was training with Master Zenyatta, I missed everyone at Overwatch. I thought I was just being sentimental, but Zenyatta talked to me. ‘To feel is to be alive.’ You shouldn’t just forget about your past, especially those you loved." Angela smiled, “Thank you, Genji.” Angela’s smile suddenly turned sly, “Anyone in particular you missed from Overwatch.” Genji shifted in his seat. “Not really.”, he lied. “Just because you have that helmet on doesn’t mean I can’t see that you turn whenever Lena enters the room.”

Genji maintained his stoicism, but he crossed his legs. Angela’s smile got even more devilish. _There’s the tell._ Genji coughed, “Well, she makes a lot of noise.” Angela rolled her eyes, “So does Reinhardt. You know she likes you too, Genji.” Genji shuffled, “I… I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to try romance.” Zenyatta spoke up from the other end of the plane, “But you have just told Doctor Zeigler that it is foolish to let go of sentimentality, while you yourself are trying to let go of your feelings for Miss. Oxton. Hypocrisy is an unhealthy emotional trait, Genji.” Angela laughed, while Genji folded his arms. “You’re not helping, master.” Angela finally stopped laughing, somehow making eye contact through the visor. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, Genji. But I think you and Lena would be very happy together.” Genji nodded jerkily, “T-thank you, Angela. I..I think I need to meditate.” Angela smiled, happy with the result. She checked the estimated time until they arrived. _Verdammt, 9 hours._ “And I need to get some sleep.”

Angela shut her eyes, letting the soft hum of the jet engines sooth her to sleep.

She was panicking. The first time in a while she felt genuinely terrified. _Oh gott, oh gott, oh gott! Bitte lassen Sie ihn in Ordnung sein!_ The base was in rubble, looked like some kind of detonation went off inside. She ran through the still dusty wreckage, and began yelling. “HELLO? IS ANYONE ALIVE? PLEASE!” Her voice echoed across the concrete, the looming silence her answer. She kept running, the tightness in her chest only increasing the longer she went. “PLEASE, ANYONE!! THIS IS DOCTOR ZEIGLER, IS ANYONE ALIVE?” Nothing. She kept looking, maybe they were too weak to answer?

She began tearing away at the debris, before finding someone.

It was Gabe. What is he doing here? Then she saw. The insignia of a raven’s claw embossed on his armor. _Oh no. No no no. Why Gabe? Why Talon?_ She turned his face, his dead eyes staring at her, unfocused and unmoving. _Verdammt._ She closed his eyes and marked his location. She had to keep moving. She kept climbing, sifting and scanning the rubble occasionally.

She knew that who she was looking for was not likely to be alive. Jack was still in the building to get people to evacuate. _Even when they don’t want to leave._ She thought, the bottom of her stomach dropping out. _Verdammt!! If I weren’t so fucking stubborn, maybe he would’ve gotten out._ She remembered his arms wrapping around her, tight, while he picked her up, kicking and screaming, and put her in the escape elevator. And then, just after the doors closed, she heard the words come through the radio.

“ _I love you, Angel”_ She kept pounding on the elevator door until it finally opened 3 minutes later, a thousand feet away from the HQ. Then the earth shuddered, and she saw the building crumble.

Her heart was in her throat, pounding so hard it was hard to breath. She screamed, “JACK, WHERE ARE YOU!!! OH GOTT,PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE-“ And then she saw it. A scrap of blue cloth. Torn and burned, barely poking out of the rubble.

 _No. Nonononononon, PLEASE NO._ She ran to it, gingerly pulling the coat from the rubble. And there, on the right breast was his name. _Morrison._ She began tearing apart the rubble. She kept at it for 15 minutes, until everything hurt. Nothing. No blood, no body. Just concrete and wires. She walked over to the coat, gently caressing it. And suddenly, with no warning, her knee’s buckled, and she hit the ground. She just began crying, tears running down her dirty cheeks. She gripped the coat as tight as she could, burying her face as her entire frame racked with sobs. _Jack..._

It was about 15 minutes until Bridgette, Genji, Lena and Winston found her, still sobbing. Bridgette and Winston put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, to little avail. Lena was crying herself, with Genji trying to attend to her. Reinhardt came in behind them, his armor crunching over the debris in his way. He saw Angela, knelt down next to her and gingerly picked her up. “ _Es ist in Ordnung,_ Angela _.”_ She heard him mutter softly. “ _E-s ist in Ord-nung.”_ Now he was choking up. She felt more tears come.

She felt herself rocking as Reinhardt walked, gently swinging back and forth. She was so tired.

 _“Doctor Zeigler?”_ She heard a robotic voice.

 _“Doctor Zeigler?”_ There it was again. The rocking became more disjointed, finally waking her from her dream.

“I’m sorry Doctor Zeigler, but we have almost arrived.” Zenyatta apologized.

12 am, Over Antarctica

Angela rubbed her wet eyes, “Oh. Thank you Zenyatta.” Zenyatta tilted his head, “Is something the matter, doctor?” Angela smiled, waving him off, “Just a bad dream. Thank you Zenyatta.” Angela looked out the window, taking in the beauty of the arctic landscape. The pure white landscape colliding with crystalline blues of the ocean and sky.

The Osprey began to descend, and Angela saw the facility. It was half engulfed by ice and snow. She grabbed her scarf, wrapping it tightly around her lower face. Angela turned and faced Genji and Zenyatta, “Alright, let’s wake up Mei and get out. I’d prefer not to spend more time then we need to in this cold.” Genji nodded, “Agreed.” Hermes’ voice came over the Osprey’s loud speaker, “1 minute until touchdown.”

The three moved to the back of the plane, getting ready for the ramp to lower. Angela braced herself, both for the landing and the cold. Hermes’ voice came over the intercom, “Lowering ramp” With a rush of wind, the ramp dropped, letting the group see the ground moving beneath the Osprey. “Touchdown in 10, 9…” Hermes’ kept counting down, while the group readied themselves. “…3, 2, 1.” The Osprey gently landed, and the group jumped out, quickly moving towards the entrance of the facility. Genji called back to Hermes, “Keep the jets warm and let us know what the weathers doing.” Angela moved to the door, punching in the passcode. The door grinded open, ice breaking away. Angela checked the map on her HUD, “Cryo-chambers are down this way, follow me.”

The three of them walked through the hallways, taking in the facility. Being frozen had clearly done a number on it, the computers were flickering and showing error messages, icicles were hanging from the ceiling, and the smell of mold and dew hung in the air. Angela coughed, “There’s another reason to be quick; the smell. Let’s go, this way.” Angela turned right and began jogging, the map showing the cryo-chambers at the end of the hallway.

The group entered a large room, filled with several cyro-chambers. Angela looked at her notes, “Mei’s chamber is over… Here!” She walked up to it, wiping off the condensation from the glass. Mei looked exactly the same, her hair down instead of the cute bun it normally was in. Angela moved to the control panel, beginning the process of waking Mei up. Angela turned to Zenyatta and Genji, “5 minutes until she wakes up. Any other survivors?” Zenyatta shook his head, “I’m sorry Doctor Zeigler. All things considered, it is surprising that even one survived.” Angela sighed, “We should take down their names. Their families need to know.” Angela walked to each one, noting down their names. After Angela checked the timer, 1 minute until wake up.

Angela readied her Caduceus staff, knowing that after such a long time in cryo-sleep, Mei would likely be extremely weak. The door on the chamber hissed open, mist rolling out from inside. Mei stumbled out, collapsing on the ground, coughing her lungs up. Angela turned on the staff, the warm yellow beam connecting with Mei’s body. “Mmmm?” Mei groaned, before looking up at Mercy and Genji. “Oh, hi guys!” She said brightly, as if it hadn’t been years since they last saw each other. Angela smiled back, “Hello Mei. Are you feeling well?” Mei nodded, finally standing up and grabbing her glasses, “I think so. Why do you…?”

Mei finally looked around, seeing just how ruined the facility was. “Oh my gosh.” Angela gently touched Mei’s shoulder, “Mei, I know that you are probably confused, but we need to get out of here.”  Mei stood, eyes widening behind her glasses. “B-but my team.” Angela shook her head, “You are the only survivor, Mei. I’m sorry.” Mei gulped, “B-but, I need to get my gear! And…Snowball!!” Angela nodded, “Lead the way.”

Mei led them to the equipment room, quickly grabbing Snowball’s canister. Snowball was her robotic research drone that she developed with Winston’s help while at Overwatch. Outside of having no battery, the little drone looked like it had survived the freeze relatively unscathed. She then moved to her large coat and boots, putting them on and quickly strapping Snowballs canister across her back, as well as grabbing some of the lab notes. “Okay, I’m good to go!” Mei said urgently. Genji nodded, “Let’s get back to the Osprey.”

The group made their way outside, stepping onto the Osprey. Zenyatta tilted his head, “We are heading to South Korea, Ms. Zhou. Are you sure that coat is a good idea?” Mei looked down at the gigantic coat. Just as Mei opened her mouth, the plane took off. “Well, it’s a bit late to go back. I’m sure I’ll manage! By the way; who are you?” She replied, her voice buoyant. Zenyatta bowed his head, “Tekhartha Zenyatta, Genji’s teacher. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Zhou.” Mei returned the bow before making her way over to the small electrical outlet to start charging Snowball. She sat down, turning to Angela and Genji, “Alright! So, what’s going on guys? Where’s Jack, Ana and the rest of the group?”

Angela hadn’t considered that she would need to actually fill in Mei when she woke up. Mistake on her part. Genji started, “Reinhardt, Winston, Jesse, Fareeha and Lena are all on missions getting support. But Ana, Jack and Gabe are…” Angela picked up for him, “Dead, Mei. Ana was killed in action, Gabe and Jack were killed when Talon destroyed HQ.” Genji spoke again, “Gabe joined Talon, and Overwatch was deconstructed. All Overwatch activity was made illegal.” Mei’s face sunk, “O-oh no. A-Angela, I’m so sorry, I didn’t…” Angela put her hand on Mei’s shoulder, reassuring her. “Don’t worry, Mei. You’ve been asleep for almost six years. There’s no way you could’ve known.” Mei’s eyes widened, “S-six years? We were supposed to be in cryo stasis for 6 months. What..?” Genji spoke up, “A storm blew over the facility, but with Overwatch decommissioned, no-one knew you were lost.”

Mei looked up at the two of them, “Then how did you find me?” “Winston issued a recall.” Angela continued, “We were sent to get you, and a potential agent in Seoul.” Mei nodded, the news still sinking in. Genji knelt down, “Are you alright Mei?” Mei nodded, “I-I just need some time to think. But thanks for getting me out, you guys.” Mei smiled up at them, Angela returning it and Genji patting her on the shoulder. Hermes’ voice came over the loud speaker. “3 and a half hours until we reach Seoul.”

Outside of Snowball booting up and playing with Zenyatta, the flight to Seoul was uneventful. Most of the time Mei was chatting with Genji and Angela, learning what had happened in the near 6 years she had been asleep. Genji training in the Himalayas, Angela’s relief work, the conflict between Omnic’s and humans. While she didn’t know exactly how to, she was more than willing to help.

The Osprey touched down in Osan air base at around 5 in the morning, the base bustling with activity. Tanks, walking or otherwise, were being fixed up and prepped. The group walked out into the fray. “Strange how no-one’s questioning that we’re here.” Angela noted. “Let’s try to keep it that way.” Genji replied. The group wandered into the mismatch of crewmen, pilots and soldiers, looking for Hana Song. It didn’t take them very long.

Sitting alongside the olive-drab and stealth grey tanks and mechs was a neon pink and white mech, logos of different companies on almost every surface. It looked like it had been damaged, the weapons were offline and the HUD was showing error messages A small girl in a matching jumpsuit was typing on a laptop connected to the machine, her face focused and fingers blazing away. Soon she picked up a small device and began to check the circuits. “Hana Song?” Genji spoke up, trying to get her attention. “Yes? Sorry, bit busy right now.” She replied, just as she repaired a circuit. The mech booted back into life, lights flashing and weapons glowing.

“YES!!” Hana exclaimed, slapping the mech. “Alright, so what’s…” Hana jumped down in front of the group, and stopped talking when she realized who she was talking to. “Oh... You’re the Overwatch guys. Sorry, I didn’t think you would get here until the afternoon. I’m Hana!” She stuck her hand out, and the group finally got a good look at her. She was extremely young, couldn’t be older than 21. She had long amber hair and matching eyes, and an exuberant energy about her. Angela took her hand, “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Song.” Hana waved her hand, “Just Hana, please. So, I’m ready to go. Already got permission from my commander to leave.” Genji nodded, “Very good. Just one problem; How are we going to carry your mech with us?” Hana smiled, “I won’t need to. I can summon it anytime I want.” Genji nodded, “Amazing, can it do anything else?” Hana nodded excitedly, “Outside of the cannons, it has jet boosters, a laser defense matrix and can be detonated on command.”

Angela raised her brows, “This thing is explosive?” Hana shook her head, “Not on it’s own, but the drive core can be ordered to overload, resulting in a large explosion. Even under heavy fire, it won’t explode unless ordered to. But it’s ordered to a lot.” Genji tilted his head, “Then why were you fixing it just now?” Hana shrugged, “It’s still good to know your equipment. Plus, working on mechs is fun.” Mei giggled, “That’s the only reason you need.” Genji nodded, “Grab your things and let’s go. Our plane is next to hanger 3.” Hana saluted, “Will do!”, before running off to the barracks.

The group made their way back to the Osprey, and waited for Hana. About 10 minutes later, she showed up. Pulling a footlocker that looked to be almost twice her bodyweight, huffing and puffing, red in the face. Genji walked over, easily picking up the locker. “Thanks. Sorry, I have a bunch of stuff.” Hana gasped, dragging herself onto the plane and collapsing into a seat. Angela knelt down, worried. “Are you sure you’re alright, Hana?” Hana weakly nodded, “Maybe some water, and some sleep. I spent all night working on my mech.” Angela fetched a water bottle, handing it to Hana. Zenyatta hovered up the ramp, “You will have plenty of time to do so, Ms. Song. It’s going to be around 15 hours to Gibraltar.” Hana smiled weakly, “Awesome. Cushy seats too.” The Osprey took off, finally heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	11. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kinda fluffy chapter about Jack dropping off the Mustang. Might focus on David's family in a short story later. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

2:30, Above the Gulf of Mexico

Lena and Lúcio kept most of their questions to the Mustang. Every couple of minutes they would come up with a new question. How long did it take to build? Why didn’t you put nitrous in it? Why a supercharger and not a turbocharger? ( _About 6 weeks with my dad; It did but nitrous is useless everywhere except a track; The Mustangs low revving V8 benefits more from a supercharger than a turbo. Plus, it sounds awesome.)_

Finally, they both asked if they could drive it, or at least ride in it. Jack mused, “Maybe. I am returning it.” Lena and Lúcio hopped up and down in excitement. “Might be a bit of a squeeze, but we could make it work. You would need to lose the skates though.” He finished, gesturing to Lúcio’s mobility armor. Lúcio looked down, suddenly remembering he was wearing them. “Oh right!” He pulled the skates off, revealing a pair of light running shoes. “Ahhhhh, much lighter.” Lena looked up at Jack, quizzically. “Where are you from anyway?” Jack chuckled, “You’re gonna need to know me better to get that out of me. Sorry.”

Lena shrugged, “What’s up with the secrecy, anyway?” Jack had planned his answer, but paused. “I’ve taken out about 15 Talon assets in a period of 4 and a half years. I’m not going to make my family a target. So…” he gestured to the visor, “I hide my face, my voice. I’m not going let my fight put them in danger.” The answer, as always, was partially true. His birth family; his mom and dad, were dead. He was more worried about Angela. If Talon found out the man who had personally did more damage to their organization than any other person was still alive, they would go after her. And without Overwatch protecting her, she was an easy target.

 _But now, Overwatch is back._ Jack mused. “I’ve got a question for you two.” Lena nodded, “Watcha wanna know, luv?” Jack leaned against the Mustang. “Now that I’m part of your crew, who else is there? Gonna be hard to save the world with just the six of us.” Lena giggled, “Don’t worry, there’s a bunch more. There’s Reinhardt, who’s a gigantic walking tank. Bridgette, she’s Reinhardt’s combat engineer. Angela, she’s our doctor. Genji, who’s our close quarters combat specialist and his teacher, Tekhartha Zenyatta, a shambali monk. We’ll be getting even more soon!” She smiled, while Jack just nodded.

The thought never occurred to him that since Overwatch was back, he might not have to hide anymore. At least, not from her. The sudden realization that he might actually be able to see Angela again both made his heart soar, and his stomach turn. _Would she even want to see me? I mean, she missed me, but still…_ “You alright, luv?” Lena asked, noticing, even with the visor, Jack’s turmoil. “Yeah. Just… remembering something.” Lúcio perked up, “What about?” Jack waved his hand, “I doubt you guys would be interested.” Lena shook her head, “C’mon, S76. It’s gonna be like 2 hours till we reach the US.”

“Alright. So…”Jack rolled into it, for once actually telling the truth. “Here’s why I’m with you guys against Talon. I used to help Omnic’s in the Czech Republic. Most of them were trying to get to England.” Lúcio nodded, “What did you do?” Jack turned to him, “I was a guard. I mostly just prevented drunk assholes from trying to start fights. We were outpost Svoboda. Just south of Prague.” Tracer nodded excitedly, “I worked with the outposts! Maybe I’ve worked with you!” Jack shrugged, “Maybe. I only wore a balaclava back then, but I was still disguised. Anyway, we were told that we were expecting a VIP to visit. It was Tekhartha Mondatta. We were also told that we should expect some ‘violence’. Well, we had seen that before. Bunch of drunk idiots with rocks and maybe a Molotov cocktail. But this time, they had apparently found funding.” Jack groaned, “I had a whole team with me. Good people, ominc and human. Dominika, Ancika, Arnost and Marek.” Jack pulled out his old phone, flipping out the one picture he had of them. Ancika and Arnost were both human, while Dominika and Marek were Omnic. Jack was standing second from the right, clad in an old plate carrier and wearing a plaid shirt as opposed to his jacket. Both Jack and Ancika were holding old M4A1 rifles, while Arnost was holding a Sako TRG-42 marksmen’s rifle. Marek had a large AA-12 shotgun and Dominika had a HK UMP.

“They came in at night. 20 of them. Talon assholes, armed to the teeth. And we had to take them out, or else Mondatta would die. We did it, but only I survived.” Jack glanced over at Lena and Lúcio, “That’s why I’m after Talon.” Tracer pulled off her goggles, wiping her eyes. Jack walked over to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. “You alright?” Lena nodded, “Yeah, it’s just that… I tried to save Tekhartha Mondatta from assassination, and I failed.” Jack had heard that Mondatta had been killed, but he didn’t know Lena was there. “Did you have any back up?” Lena shook her head. “So you went toe-to-toe with a Talon assassin, and lived? That’s incredible in itself.” Lena looked up at him, and he saw that old glow in her eyes return. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, kid.” Tracer smiled at him, her happy giggle returning. “I’m not a kid, I’m probably your age.” Jack snorted, “Clearly time has treated you better than me.” He grinned, pointing to his white hair.

Jack turned to Lúcio, “So, what’s your story? You handled yourself pretty well out there.” Lúcio produced two digital turntables from thin air, playing one of his songs. A chill, bass filled electro-lounge track. “Professionally, I’m a musician. But I’m also a _combatente da Liberdade_.” He pulled up some pictures showing him standing arm-in-arm with rag-tag looking revolutionaries. “You’ve heard of the Vishkar Corporation? I think I mentioned them before?” Jack nodded, “Yeah, company out of India known for various grey violations of human rights and suspected links to terrorism. Seems like a fun bunch.” Lúcio nodded, “Yeah, I was helping the revolutionaries down in Rio. Hitting their supplies, taking their tech.” Lúcio raised his sonic blaster, smiling. “Those greedy assholes picked the wrong city to mess with.”

Jack nodded his head, “Heard about what you guys were doing down there. Wanted to join you, but _los Muertos_ and Talon were too important.” Lúcio smiled, “We would’ve loved to have you join us, 76. You are a legend down there. You ‘ _combatendo o bom combate_.’ Standing up for the underdog.” Jack smiled, his brow unfurling, “Good to know my fight helps others. Not sure if I’m ‘legend’ material, but thank you.”

Jack checked the time, “Excuse me, I have to make a call.” He got up, walking over towards the cabin of the Globemaster. He tapped in the number, waiting as the phone rang. The line picked up, and David, one of Jacks oldest friends, was on the line. “Hey Jack, what’s up?” Jack turned down the audio distorter. “Hey David, listen; I know it’s sudden, but I’m gonna need to drop off the Mustang today. I’ll be there by around six o’clock. That cool?” David’s response was instant, “Of course. The kids will love having it back.”

Jack chuckled, “How are the two little trouble makers doing?” He could hear David sigh, “Well, Jess lost her first tooth last week and Jamie found his first crush. Samantha, a girl in his math class.” Jack laughed, “No kidding?” David half laughed, half groaned, “Yep. Kyle’s been trying to talk to him about it, but he’s too shy.” Jack chuckled, “If it’s any help, tell him I was like that when I was his age.” Jack thought back to the Ally’s mother in Dorado, her lively eyes and beautiful brown hair. And then Angela. He knew her over 10 years and she still took his breath away. With her perfect hair, her eyes, her smile. Perfect everything. Jack felt his face get warm. “Hell, I still am.” David chuckled, “Will do. See you at six, Jack.” Jack nodded, “Just one thing; don’t use my name. I’m trying to hide it from these guys I’m working with. See you, Dave.” “No problem. See you.”

Jack walked back over to Tracer and Lúcio. “Sorry, needed to make that call. Anyway, I bet you two have some good stories.” Lúcio tried to remain nonchalant, “There was this one time I hijacked a Vishkar convoy with nothing but these skates.” Jack raised his eyebrows, “Well, let’s hear it.” Lúcio spread his arms, “So, I was just chillin’ on this hill, right? It overlooked the entire favela, you could see everything. It’s like 9 o’clock, and the place is lit up, it’s so beautiful. There were some kids playing _futebol_ on the street, just kicking a ball around, y’know? But then, out of nowhere…” Lúcio swoops his arms, “A giant truck just barrels through, almost hitting the kids. Some guys in riot gear get out, pushing the kids around, something about ‘curfew’.”

Lúcio grimaced, shaking his head. “Cracking down on kids playing, because of ‘order’ and ‘peace’. I just ran down there. I didn’t know really what I was going to do, honestly. I just needed to do something. So…” Lúcio stopped, taking a breath. “The guys were getting back in the truck just as I hit the street. I grabbed on just as the truck pulled away, and I hung on. It was crazy, and they were trying to shake me off. I finally got the back door open, and it was a treasure trove of stuff.” He grabbed the sonic blaster, “Including this. They use these to ‘pacify’ people who are ‘causing disorder’.” Lúcio grinned, “They opened the door, expecting to just see some ratty street punk, and they got a ratty street punk with a sonic blaster. Turns out, it’s pretty good at ‘pacifying’ their own guards. And flipping their trucks. That was the first real victory for the resistance. So… I kinda started the revolution.”

Lena smiled, while Jack patted Lúcio on the back. “Not many people would’ve been brave enough to stand up to them. Good job, Lúcio.” Lúcio beamed, “Thanks 76.” Jack asked, “How is the resistance taking you leaving for Overwatch?” Lúcio shrugged, “I’m just one guy, 76. The resistance can survive without me. But I’ll come back, one day. I wanna be there when Vishkar runs away with their tail between their legs. Plus, my stuff is there.” Jack laughed, a soft, geniune chuckle that still sounded happy, despite the voice distorter.

4:30; Indianapolis, Indiana

The Globemaster landed at the Indianapolis International Airport, taxiing over to one of the large hangars at the edge of the facility. Jack untied the Mustang, pushing it onto the runway before walking over to Winston. “So, how are we gonna get back to the C-26? Just have someone follow us in a Cougar and drive us back?” Winston nodded, “Well, not in the trucks. We have a rental, Pharah will follow you three in it. Just give her the address and she’ll follow you and bring you back. Here’s a security pass that should get you out of the airport.”

Jack nodded, grabbing the pass and walking over to Fareeha, who had since taken off her Raptora armor, instead donning a set of blue combat fatigues. _Like mother like daughter, huh?_ “We’re heading to 22 Grove lane in Columbus, Indiana. It’s gonna be about an hour drive. You have a GPS?” Fareeha nodded, “I’ll follow you most of the way. Your car is easy to spot. But let’s keep on the radio, just to be sure.” Jack walked over to the Mustang, Lena and Lúcio already piled in, Lúcio in the passenger seat and Lena squeezed into one of the back seats. “Try to keep up.” Jack called over his shoulder before he buckled himself into the muscle car, and turned the key. The V8 engine coughed into life, before settling into a low rumble. “Everyone buckled up?” Jack asked, looking around the car. Both Lúcio and Lena pulled at their seatbelts, giving the thumbs up. “Alright.”

Jack put the car into 1st gear, keeping his foot on the clutch. Jack touched the gas pedal, and the engine burbled and crackled, the supercharger whining and whistling. The car twisted as the revs climbed, before Jack dumped the clutch and the car set off. The tires chirped before finding traction, the engine snarling and barking. Lúcio pumped his fist, grabbing onto the interior, while shouts of glee came from Lena. The tachometer climbed to 7000, and Jack grabbed the shifter, smoothly sliding it into 2nd gear. He made his way over to the gate, tapping the security pass on the identifier. The gate slid open, and Jack smoothly pulled onto the street, making his way to the freeway.

Jack drove up the on-ramp, accelerating up to highway speed and merging into the traffic. Jack shifted into 6th gear, and the Mustang finally settled. The once snorting wild animal quieted down into a lap dog. “Huh. It’s a lot quieter than I thought.” Lúcio said, not even raising his voice. “Any car can be crazy or civilized.” Jack said, hanging his arm on the door “It’s really up to the driver.” Lena huffed and pouted, “But I wanted to go fast.” Jack chuckled, “Not on the highway, but this place has tons of backroads where we can mess around. In the meantime…” Jack shifted down into 3rd gear. “Check this out.” Jack flattened the gas pedal, and the car surged forward, going from 70 mph to 100 in about 2 and a half seconds. Jack moved into the fast lane, while Lena laughed giddily.

The drive continued for the next hour, just relaxing on the highway. Traffic was minimal, especially for rush hour. Lúcio took care of the music, another one of his calm songs coming through the speakers. “Next exit is ours.” Jack tried to make conversation, deciding to focus on Lena. “So, why are you so obsessed with speed?” Lena smiled, quirking an eyebrow, “You don’t know, luv?” Jack shrugged, “Should I?” Of course, Jack was lying. He knew the whole story, hell he was Strike Commander during the Slipstream accident. Lena smiled wistfully, “Just my nature. I used to be a test pilot. I love the feeling of g-forces and seeing the landscape whipping by. Doesn’t matter if it’s a car or a jet.” Jack nodded, “Can’t argue with that.” Lúcio pointed out the window, “Hey, check out what’s behind us.” Jack noticed a large Audi sedan behind them, a clearly bored Fareeha at the wheel. Lena clicked on her radio, “Hey, cheer up Fareeha, at least we aren’t getting shot at!” A second passed before Fareeha wryly replied, “I could use the excitement right now.” Lena and Lúcio giggled, while Jack clicked on his radio, “Alright, here’s some excitement.” Jack took their exit, quickly making his way onto a deserted backroad.

Jack shifted down and stepped on the throttle. The Mustang sprinting forward, leaving the Audi in the dust. Fareeha’s voice broke over the radio, “Hey, slow down! Someone could get hurt!!” Jack quickly spoke into the radio, “It’s the middle of nowhere; there isn’t anybody for miles.” The road was flat and perfect for driving. Varying corners and curves with a couple of straight stretches. Jack looked ahead, seeing a gentle left curve Jack pressed the brakes and shifted down, turning the wheel. The Mustang darted into the corner with a hint of oversteer. Jack counter-steered into it, keeping the car in control. The back end gripped again, and the Mustang launched out of the corner. Lúcio whooped, “Awesome!!” while Lena squealed and giggled in the back seat.

Jack continued pushing the Mustang, and it kept taking every corner and blasting along every straight, Fareeha’s Audi became a distant grey dot in the mirror. Finally, Jack recognized some of the scenery. Big forests and fields, long since abandoned for farming. He slowed down, knowing his destination was coming up.

Soon he saw it, a small plain family home. Jack pulled into the driveway, shutting off the Mustang. He got out and walked up to the door. He knocked once, and a man in a blue t-shirt and jeans opened it. Jack smiled, “Hey David.” David grabbed his hand, pulling him into a hug. “Hey Jack.” Jack patted his back hard, returning the sentiment. “Sorry, no names. Forgot for a second.” Jack shook his head, “Forget about it.” Jack handed off the keys to Daivd, “Take care of her for me.” David smiled back, “Will do.”, while a set of bright green eyes appeared from behind his leg. Jessica, David and Kyle’s 7 year old daughter, looked at the 3 people on her yard.

“Ohmygosh! Uncle J!!” She sprinted forward, and lept into Jack’s open arms. “How ya doin’ kiddo?” Jack said, ruffling her long raven hair. She smiled, a small gap where her left top canine should’ve been. “I lost a tooth!” She pointed at the gap and Jack gasped, feigning shock. “No. Way.” She nodded excitedly. “I left it under my pillow, and the tooth fairy came and gave me 3 dollars.” Jack put her down, kneeling at her height, “What?! That’s crazy! Back in my day, we only got 2 dollars!” Jess giggled, just as Fareeha pulled into the driveway. “Hey kiddo, I gotta go but tell your brother and papa I said hi, alright?” She nodded, before hugging him tightly. “Bye-bye, Uncle J.” Jack gently patted her back, “See you later, kiddo.” Jessica ran back to David, and Jack waved goodbye to them as he hopped into the passenger seat of the Audi, Lúcio and Lena already in the back seat.

Fareeha quirked an eyebrow, “Who was that, your brother?” Jack nodded, lying with a terse “Yeah.”   _Hell, even though that’s a lie, we might as well be._ Jack buckled his seat belt, noticing that Fareeha’s eyes had softened a bit. “Never really took you for being sentimental.” Jack shrugged, “It’s good to have a place come back to. Someplace and people you can just be human around.” Jack looked out the window at the house, getting farther and farther away. “But time to get back to work.” Jack sighed, leaning in the seat. He was so tired, and his stomach grumbled.

Fareeha made her way back to the highway, the German sedan quiet and comfortable. Lúcio and Lena were chatting away in the back seat. Jack turned to Fareeha, “So, what did you do for Helix security?” Fareeha glanced over at Jack, “I was a guard. They recruited me out of the Egyptian army, I was a paratrooper.” Jack snorted, “A guard that uses flying shock armor?” Fareeha nodded, “I was part of a team assigned to defend an AI complex in Giza. We needed to be prepared for anything.” Fareeha sighed, “So when the AI turned against us, my team was able shut it down. Still, we lost a lot of good people, including my CO.” Jack shook his head, “I’m sorry. I know what that’s like, losing people.”

Fareeha nodded, smiling “Thanks. You know, I’m surprised you aren’t curious about my tattoo.” Jack shrugged, “I already know about the Eye of Horus.” Jack froze, realizing what he just said. _NOYOUDON’TYOUFUCKINGMORON. AREYOUTRYINGTOGETCAUGHT?_ “Really, what does it mean then?” Fareeha turned to face Jack, her eyebrows raised. _Great, work your way out of this._ “It’s a symbol of protection.” Fareeha’s smile faded away, “Yeah, how did you know that?” Jack shrugged, “Ana Amari, the famous sniper, had one. Wondered why she had it, so I searched it up one day.” Fareeha nodded, and Jack hoped she wouldn’t realize one of her mother’s best friends was sitting next to her.

Jack quickly changed the subject, “So, you and the cowboy? You two dating?” Fareeha snapped back to attention, “Oh! Uhh….” Fareeha quickly regained her composure, “None of your business.” Jack leaned back into his seat, “So that’s a yes.” That deflated Fareeha pretty quick. “Was it obvious?” Fareeha asked weakly. Jack chuckled, “Not until you got shot down. He called you ‘babe’.” Fareeha pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed “ _Ealayk alllaena habib.”_ Fareeha pulled up the airport security gate. She drove in, shortly reaching the parked Globemaster, Winston and Jesse wondering about outside. Jack smiled, “He really cares about you. I’ve never seen a man move that fast before. You’re lucky you have each other.” Fareeha looked up at Jesse, who was waving at her, wearing a wide grin. A warm smile spread over Fareeha’s face. “Thanks.”

The four agents stepped out of the car, walking up Winston. “Ready to leave, 76?” Winston asked Jack. Jack nodded, “Yeah. Ready to meet the rest of the team.” Winston placed a hand on Jack’s back, “Good, let’s head to Gibraltar.” The group got back on the Globemaster, and 10 minutes later they were in the air, heading for Watchpoint Gibraltar. Jack leaned back in his seat, enjoying the quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	12. Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Angela finally meet.  
> Since I'm going back to college, I will probably update this less. I hope I will still be able to right, and I have a couple ideas for stories, so let's hope!

8 pm, Watchpoint Gibraltar

The Osprey hovered over the runway, lowering down gently. Hana was the first off, stretching her legs after sitting still for so long. She soon ran back to the plane, lifting her footlocker, this time with Genji’s help. Angela led them to the main building, while Zenyatta helped Mei with her equipment. “So, this is our main base of operations, Watchpoint Gibraltar. The cafeteria is down there, and the dormitories are this way.”

Angela led the group to the male and female dorms, a large building filled with separate rooms, made to hold 150 agents in moderate comfort. “Just pick an untaken room and settle in.” Hana smiled, “Nice, my own room!” She pulled her footlocker with her, Mei helping her lift it. She soon exited the dorms, “Done.” Mei came out soon after, having taken her giant jacket off. “I’m done as well.” Angela nodded, “Very good. Now, let’s get something to eat!” The most of the group agreed, except for Zenyatta who ‘Wished to meditate with the calm ocean breeze.’

They made their way over to the cafeteria, where Angela introduced Hana to Athena. Hana quickly made her way over to the cafeteria, grabbing as much pizza as she could fit on her plate. She sat down and started eating, before the others joined her. Angela and Mei both had a much more delicate chicken salad. “MMMMMMM THIS PIZZA IS SOOOO GOOOOD.” Hana moaned loudly between pieces. Angela was surprised how quickly Hana finished, let alone that she finished at all. “So, where’s the rest of the team?” Mei asked, when the sound of jets answered.

Another Osprey landed at the runaway, and 4 figures stepped out; 2 gigantic and 2 small. They immediately headed towards the cafeteria, and the rest of them heard them before they actually saw them. “THAT WAS A GOOD FIGHT, KAMERADE!” Reinhardt bellowed, pounding one fist on his armor. He had his arm around a very tall pink haired woman, who was smiling calmly. “Da, it vas a good fight.” She said in a heavy Russian accent. Bridgette was following behind them, talking to a rather diminutive blonde man with a large beard.

“Torbjörn!!!” Angela gleefully yelled, the man turning to face her. His grumpy old face lit up, eyes crinkling, “Angela!!  _Min vän_ , how are you!” Angela smiled sweetly, “I’m fine, we’ve been recruiting agents with Genji all day. But look who we found!” She gestured over to Mei, who waved her hand. “Hi Torby!” Torbjorn was exstatic, “Mei!!  _Liten snöflinga_ , what are you doing here?” He walked over to her, sitting opposite her on the table and Reinhardt soon joined him, his plate piled with food. Both of them listened to her story, Zarya and Bridgette soon joining them, Zarya next to Mei. Torbjörn soon noticed Genji in the corner, giving him a warm smile and clapping him on the back. “Genji,  _min vän,_  how are you doing?” Genji returned the gesture, “I’m doing well, how goes the inventing?”

Angela smiled, happy seeing the whole group together again. She walked over to the large window, looking over the facility.

10:45 Airspace above Gibraltar

Jack looked out the window at the Watchpoint. The whole place was lit up, and he could see several planes already on the ground. Jack took a seat next to Lúcio, getting ready for the landing. His heart pounded hard in his chest.  _Soon I’ll be on the ground. In the same square mile as her._  The airplane slowed down, landing gently on the ground before taxiing next to one of the hangars. Jack grabbed his bag, and walked down the ramp with the rest of the group.

Angela saw six figures get out of the cargo jet and begin to walk toward the main building. She couldn’t recognize two of them, a skinny man with what appeared to be a set of skates on, and a tall muscular man, a red glow where his eyes should be. She noticed he hung back from the group. She began walking out to meet them.  _They must be exhausted!_

Jack’s heart had become a fucking jackhammer, he was so nervous. A thousand thoughts were dancing around in his head.  _What if she recognizes me? What if my mask falls off? What…What if she doesn’t forgive me?_ Jack saw someone exit the building, and instantly he knew who it was.  _Oh god._

The group finally came in the light and she could get a better look at them. Outside of some scratches on their armor, the group looked fine. Angela stopped in front of the group, “Hello Winston, how did everything go?” Winston smiled, “Very, very good! Our two new recruits performed better than we hoped!” Angela turned to the man with the skates, her hand outstretched. “Hello, I’m Doctor Angela Zeigler.” The young man took her hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “Hi! My name’s Lúcio! Nice to meet you, doc!” His grin was wide and friendly, bursting with energy, he reminded Angela of Lena. Angela smiled back at him, “Welcome to Watchpoint Gibraltar, Lúcio. Cafeteria is down that way.” Angela gestured down the hallway and Lúcio began to walk towards it, patting his stomach. “Great,  _estou faminta!!”_  Angela turned to face the other new arrival.

She knew this must be Soldier 76. He was wearing a leather jacket; red, white and blue, and she could barely see some black armor underneath it, a red tactical visor obscuring his face. Even under the jacket, she could tell he was very muscular. She couldn’t see his face behind the visor, but she could see the white hair on his head, and a large scar running down his forehead. And she also saw something on his belt. The biotic field device. Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped forward.

_Oh no._ Jack knew that look. He prepared himself. “You’re Soldier 76, ja?” Angela slipped back into her native accent, and Jack knew she was angry. Jack nodded, not saying a word. Angela tapped her foot, “Vell, I believe you have something of mine.” Jack tilted his head in confusion, before realizing she was talking about the biotic field.

Soldier 76 reached down and plucked it off his belt, shaking it absentmindedly. Angela expected him to laugh, to get angry at her, to taunt her with it.

She didn’t expect him to hold it out to her and say “Sorry.”

Angela’s eyes went wide, confused at how this man who looked so ferocious was apologizing to her. Even through the mask, she could hear his sincerity. She gently took the device from his hands, fiddling with it. “T-thank you.” She said, finally regaining her composure. “Did it work?” Soldier 76 nodded curtly. “Good.”

_God._ She was just as beautiful as her remembered. Her beautiful, waving blonde hair. Her warm, bright blue eyes. Her sweet, melodic voice. His heart was two seconds away from bursting. Jack steadied his breathing, “Excuse me.” He needed to get away. Needed to calm down.

“Wait.” Angela spoke.

Jack froze right on the spot, turning to face her. She handed him the biotic field. “I-I think you will get better use out of it than me.” She smiled at him, something so sweet and beautiful, not knowing that right there, she almost made him collapse. Jack nodded jerkily, before managing to somehow break away from her.

Jack walked into the cafeteria, silently grabbing a cheeseburger and sitting away from the group. He recognized many faces; Torbjörn, Reinhardt, Genji, Bridgette. He was surprised to see Mei there, last he heard she was trapped, lost in Antarctica. He ate quickly, planning on spending as little time there as possible. He wiped his mouth, put the lower faceplate back on and quickly made his way to the dormitories. He found an empty room and threw his bag onto the bed.

Jack walked into the bathroom, took off his visor and threw water on his face _. I can’t stand this, not one more second of it. I have to tell her._ He quickly clicked the visor back on, and made his way outside. He noticed a figure out on the rocks, hovering while looking out onto the ocean.  _Zenyatta, the monk._ Jack figured if there was ever to get advice, now might be the time. He walked down next to him, the Omnic clearly deep in meditation.

“Excuse me?” The monk turned to face him, “Hello, you must be one of the new agents. My name is Zenyatta.” Jack nodded, “Nice to meet you, Zenyatta. I need some advice.” The omnic nodded, “On what subject?” Jack sighed, “Apologizing. There’s a woman I love, but I hurt her and I… I just want her to know that I never meant to and I…” Jack trailed off, before Zenyatta answered, “Do not expect too much. If you have hurt her, forgiveness might take time. But with time and respect, she will heal.” Jack nodded, “Thank you.” Jack headed to the one place Angela could be.

Angela sat in the med-bay, looking over the biological information of the new agents. Everything filled out, except for one agent; Soldier 76. She huffed. She had already been told by Winston why he didn’t give out his information when he was asked.  _Is your identity so important that you are willing to risk your life to protect it? Trottel._ She shook her head. She looked over at Lúcio’s profile, a completely different story. Everything was filled out; Bloodtype B+, Allergies; None, Weight; 70.3 kgs. Height; 160 cm. She took a liking to him, he just had that positive energy about him. She recalled seeing him hit it off with Hana at dinner. Joking, talking about music and videogames. She also remembered seeing Mei blushing while stealing looks at Zarya. Angela laughed to herself, Mei was probably the most adorable person to see shy in the universe.

Heavy footsteps outside her door disturbed her peace.  _Who..?_ The door opened, and Soldier 76 entered. He closed the door behind him. For some reason, he looked nervous. Tense.

Angela got up, and began speaking. “Ahh, 76!! You have not given me you biological data. If you ever get seriously injured, I need to know that; your blood type, allergies, weight…” She approached him, gently grabbing his arm. She tried to bring him over to the table to do some tests. But he remained fixed in place. Angela looked at him, noticing now that he was looking her straight in the face.

“76? Is something wrong?” Angela asked Jack, her voice worried and her brow furrowed in concern. Jack swallowed, summoning all his courage.

“I’m so sorry, Angela.”

_What…?_ She saw him reach up to his visor, and begin to pull it off. The visor detached with a metallic click. The cold air hit his face, and he took a deep breath, before letting the visor fall off his face.

Angela gasped and her heart soared.  _Jack._ Her eyes fell onto his face, taking in every detail. It was scarred, worn and changed. His once golden hair was a pale silver, and was much shorter. Two jagged scars ran across his face, over his nose and mouth. But it was still his face.  The handsome and caring face that she fell in love with. The deep blue eyes just as calm as the first day they met, his smile still as warm.

Angela was quiet, her eyes moving over Jack’s face, taking in every little detail and change. Jack was nervous. He hoped she would break the silence, because if he did, he knew he would say something stupid. Jack saw her hand move, and braced himself for the punch, the slap he deserved. Instead, a gentle warmth cupped his jaw. Jack opened his eyes in surprise, and saw something so much worse than Angela angry.

“Jack. You are…  _alive_.” Giant tears rolled silently down Angela’s cheeks.  _Oh no…_ Jack raised his right hand, taking off the combat glove that covered it. He gently stroked her cheek. Angela opened her eyes, the gentle warmth brushing across her face. She looked into Jack’s eyes, seeing how they had become wet themselves.

Suddenly, Jack felt the warmth on his jaw leave, Angela’s arms suddenly around his shoulders. She pulled him in tight, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Jack could both hear and feel her faint sobs, before hearing her quietly say, “It’s really you, Jack.” Jack wrapped his arms around her. “I’m here Angela. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” And suddenly, Jack broke. He felt warm tears cross down his face.

They finally pulled apart, still holding one another. Finally getting a look at each other. “I must look terrible, hmm?” Angela chuckled, sniffling slightly. Jack shook his head, “You’re beautiful.” Jack didn’t have a vibrant vocabulary, but he still knew how to use it. Angela blushed, pulling herself into him again. “Oh Jack.” She smiled.

Jack needed to know, “You aren’t mad?” Angela paused, before she breathed, “Five years. You were gone five years, Jack.” Jack winced at the hurt in her voice. “I’m so sorry, Angela.” She looked up, “I’m not angry, Jack. Not really. But I have many questions.” Jack nodded, opening his mouth to speak. She put a finger to his lips, smiling, “But since you are back, you can answer my questions.” Jack smiled, his heart doing backflips.

They just began talking, Jack giving his absolutely undivided attention to her. Jack tried his best to explain why he left. “The world didn’t want me anymore, Ang. I figured that if Overwatch was going to die, I should die with it.” Jack shifted in his seat. Angela sat across from him, listening intently. “But…I still wanted you, Jack. I love you.”  The three words hit him, and Jack looked down in shame, “I know, Angela. I love you too. But…” He found the words, “Overwatch was gone, but Talon wasn’t.” He looked at her, unwavering, “If Talon found out I was still alive…” He shook his head, Amelia and Gerard’s faces floating in his mind, probably the only couple that rivaled Jack and Angela in terms of closeness. How Talon tortured the polite, delicate French woman who could never hurt anyone, into a precision killing machine that murdered her own husband. “I didn’t want what happened to Amelia to happen to you. Without Overwatch protecting us, it was too risky. I’m sorry.”

Angela kept looking at him, studying him. She knew he wasn’t lying to her, and though it hurt, what he said made sense. Angela quirked her brow, “So how did you survive? I saw the HQ collapse on you.”  Jack looked up, “I’m a super soldier, Angela. I crawled my way out and got picked up by some rescue workers. They never even asked my name, just patched me up, and I moved out. Made my way across Europe, helping any way I could. Eventually I joined a group who helped Omnics in Europe. Had a team of my own again.” He paused, “But then I lost them. 4 good people, killed by Talon. So I decided to go after them, on my own. I followed Talon across Europe and down to Mexico when I heard about the Recall, and told Winston I wanted to join.”

Jack couldn’t shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach.  _What if she saw the videos?_ Jack knew she would NEVER approve, but he knew how bad it would be if he hid it. So he came clean.

“Angela, what did Winston tell you about me? 76, I mean.” Angela shrugged, “He told us that you sent him information and that you were fighting criminals and Talon. He showed that video of you in Dorado, saving the little girl.” Jack nodded, trying to steady his breath. “Anything else?” Angela shook her head. “Why?” Jack took a deep breath, “When I was 76, I did things that I’m not proud of. Things I would never do back in Overwatch.” Angela remembered the gangster that he beat with a piñata. “Like beating a gang member to intimidate him? Or something else?”

Jack put his head in his hands, “I-I know it wasn’t right, Ang. But I didn’t know what to do otherwise. When my team in Prague got killed, I was lost. I agreed that I would fight by and protect these people and I failed them. I found the Talon captain and…” Jack trailed off, deciding to spare the details of how he made the captain’s face look like a rotten tomato. “When I got to their hideout, I just did what I did best. I killed them all.” Jack breathed in shakily. “Found out they planned to bomb a school field trip in Petřín and try to blame Omnics to start violence. They were targeting children, Ang. Second graders.”

Jack breathed in again, “Then I found out what they were doing in Hamburg, and I went there and did the same thing… I found out they were trafficking drugs in Cologne.” He decided to chance a look at Angela. Her arms were folded, but her face was more concerned than angry.

Angela lowered herself, looking deep into his eyes. Despite the shame, Jack didn’t look away. “Why did you do it, Jack?” She asked, not with malice or sadness, just honest and frank curiosity. Jack’s answer was immediate. “They were hurting innocent people, putting lives at risk and…” Angela smiled slightly, stopping him. “But why you? Did you want to play the hero again, Jack? Nobody else was going to do it so you had to?” Jack shook his head at first, but then nodded, “That’s a part of it. After Overwatch died, I just felt…useless. I couldn’t stop Talon, couldn’t save my people, and I couldn’t be with you.” Jack cleared his throat, “I wanted to do something, and the Omnic outposts let me do something I was good at. When I lost them, I lost myself.”

Angela smiled sadly at him, before asking her last question. “Jack, of all the things you did, what are you proudest of?” Jack’s thoughts immediately went to Ally in Dorado, a young boy he saved in Cologne, the Omnic’s he helped. He smiled, weak and tired. “Saving people. Maybe it’s because I wanted to be a hero again like you said, but I’m glad I could help save lives.” Angela smiled at him, knowing not a single word was a lie.

Jack sat there, trying to figure out what else to say. So he spoke honestly, pouring his heart out. “I’m so sorry, Angela. I hated being away from you, but I knew it would only cause trouble. I didn’t know what to do, and… I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” Angela smiled at him, his words appreciated but unneeded. “I hated it too. But…I understand. I forgive you, Jack.” Jack’s eyes watered. _God, what did I do to deserve her?_ Jack stood up, wiping his tears. He felt so tired, but he somehow managed to smile at her, taking 5 years off his face. “Thanks, Angela.”

_Jack, sie dummkouf._ Angela stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him, and he returned the gesture. She had stopped crying and recovered from the shock of his reappearance, just as beautiful as ever. She smiled up at Jack, and Jack realized just how close she was. Only 3 inches away. Her blue eyes clear and bright. Her hair golden and soft. Her lips… Jack shut his eyes.

_God, I want to kiss her so bad. Don’t push her Jack, you just dropped a bomb on her. Let’s move at her pa-_

At that moment, Jack felt a soft, wet warmth touch his lips. His eyes shot open, and Angela was kissing him. Not a giant, sloppy French kiss. It was gentle, sweet, but most of all, happy. Jack relaxed and shut his eyes until they stopped after what seemed like a blissful eternity. Jack wore the dumbest, happiest grin he ever had in at least 5 years. Angela smiled at him, loving his reaction. Her head rested once again onto his chest. “I missed this, Jack. So much.” She murmured, full of contentment. Jack gently planted a kiss on her forehead, “I missed it too, Angel. I love you.” Angela smiled at the old nickname. “I love you too.”

Suddenly they heard footsteps down the hall. Jack pulled away. “Oh fuck! My visor-!” Jack said quietly, realizing how bad it would be if someone saw him. Angela quickly grabbed his visor off the ground and handed it to him. Jack got the mask on just as Lúcio walked in. “Hey doc, what’s….Oh hey 76! You feeling sick? I didn’t see you at dinner.” Jack smiled, “Yeah, a little. Don’t worry, just came to the nurse for something. Thanks kid.” Jack leaned on the table, trying to appear relaxed. With the mask back on, it was surprisingly easy.

Not so for Angela. She straightened her clothes, her face scarlet. “Yes-um-Lucio, what did you need?” Lucio continued, “Oh, Hana and I just want some stuff to help keep us awake, we planned to- Doc Z, you alright? Your face is pretty red.” Angela tried her best to act casual, “Oh-I’m fine, thank you! Anyway, energy drinks? Yes, right over here.” Angela walked over to the recovery cabinet, fishing through it for some supplies. “You’re sleeping over with Ms. Song?” Angela asked. Lucio nodded, “Yep! She has all these sweet games, we were planning on doing a surprise stream tonight!”

Angela nodded, smiling.  _Ahh, junge Liebe!_ She handed him two cans of energy drink. “Here you go Lucio. Have a nice night!” Lucio took them, giving her a thumbs up, “Thanks Doc Z! Take it easy, 76!” Jack nodded, “Have fun kid.” Lucio quickly exited, moving towards the dormitories, jamming to some soft electro music coming from his headphones.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, taking off the visor while Angela walked over and sat next to him. “Thanks, Ang.” Angela smiled, “Not the first time I’ve saved you, hmmm?” Jack chuckled, “Nope. Probably won’t be the last.” Angela crinkled her brow, “You aren’t going to show the rest of the group who you are, Jack?” Jack shook his head, “Someday. I’m sorry, I’m just not ready.” She gently grabbed his hand, her fingers interlacing with his. “I understand, Jack. But it wasn’t just me that missed you. Everyone else needs to know you are alive.” Jack nodded, smiling wearily. “Okay Angel, I will.”

Jack looked at his phone, it was almost midnight. “Look at the time. I’d better get to bed, Angel.” Angela grabbed his arm, keeping him in place. “Where do you think you’re going, Jack?” She tapped her foot impatiently. “I still need you to fill out the medical forms.” Jack half-sighed, half-chuckled. “Really, Angel? I’m pretty sure you already know it.” Jack knew from the look in her eyes she wasn’t going to just let him go.

Jack helped her fill out the information; “Blood type; A+, Allergies; None Weight…” Jack answered every question, until each and every section was filled out. It was well past midnight when they finished. Jack stretched his muscles, stiff after a day of being on the move. “Welp, that’s everything. I’m gonna go now.” He moved towards the door before Angela grabbed his arm again. Jack sighed. “Even more?” Angela shook her head, a soft smile blooming on her face. “No,  _sie dummkouf.”_ Angela gestured towards her bed. Suddenly Jack understood.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Isn’t this a bit fast, Angel?” Angela laughed. _Always the cautious one._ She took off her uniform, the tight shirt and leggings leaving little to the imagination. Not that Jack hadn’t seen Angela naked before, but she still took his breath away. Jack swallowed hard, his face scarlet. “B-but what if someone see’s us?” Angela flipped a switch, and privacy blinders came down. “Oh…” Jack had forgotten about those. Angela closed the distance, once again wrapping her arms around him. “Jack, I’m not going to make you do anything you do not want to, but please…” She flashed her eyes at him, begging him to stay.

_Goddamnit._ Jack took off his jacket, armor, pants and visor, leaving his black t-shirt and boxer briefs on. Angela walked over to the bed, lifting up the covers. Suddenly, she heard a mechanical buzzing come on. Jack was standing by the thermostat, grin on his face. Angela rolled her eyes, “ _Sie Teufel_.” Jack got in bed, immediately wrapping his arms around her waist, becoming the big spoon. Jack gently nestled his head into her neck. “I love you Angel. Good night.” Angela smiled, “I love you too, Jack.  _Gute Nacht_.”

And so, they slept. Happy to be in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


	13. Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really light chapter, sorry guys. Been busy with school, plus I've been pretty sick the last couple days. Still, hope you enjoy!

8:45 AM, Watchpoint Gibraltar

Jack woke up, smiling at feeling the soft warmth next to him. Jack opened his eyes to perhaps the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Sometime in the middle of the night, Angela ended up with her arm wrapped around Jack and her head on his chest, mouth open and making a soft cooing sound. Jack gingerly wrapped his arm around her, careful to not wake her up. 5 minutes later, Angela finally stirred, gently groaning. Jack placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “ _Gut-en Mor-gen Shön-heit.”_ Angela smiled at Jack’s butchering of the German language. “Close, you’ll get there eventually.” Jack tried to get up out of bed, but Angela kept her arm around him. “Another 5 minutes please, Jack.” she mumbled. It was more an order than a request, but Jack was more than happy to oblige.

15 minutes later, Jack and Angela were finally out of bed, Angela doing her routine stretches as Jack was trying to both find his pants and watch at the same time. After she finished, Angela put on her uniform, before handing Jack his jacket back. “Thanks Ang.” Jack pulled the jacket over his heavy armor, zipping it up. Jack grabbed his visor. He checked it over to make sure it wasn’t damaged, before turning to Angela. “Wanna go get some breakfast? I’m starving.” Angela smiled, “ _Ja_ , let’s go!” Jack began to put on the visor again, before Angela gently put her hand over his, interrupted him. “One last thing before you put on the mask.” Jack turned, and Angela gave him another kiss on lips. Blush spread over his face and a smile on his lips, before he put the visor back on. “Thanks, Angel.” Angela smiled back, opening the door.

They walked in the cafeteria, Angela grabbing her usual bowl of greek yogurt and fruit, while Jack grabbed a bowl of sugary cereal, pouring cold whole milk over them. They both sat down at the table closest to the ocean view. The sea was calm, the rising sun reflecting beautifully off of the waves.  Jack took off the lower faceplate of his mask and they began to eat. Angela sighed, “Quite a view, hmmm?” Jack nodded, “I forgot how beautiful this place could be. Weather still sucks.” Angela quirked her head at him, “How so? It was always so nice and warm.” Jack chuckled, “My point exactly, Angela. I grew up in the cold, summer and I have never worked well together.” Angela rolled her eyes, before she heard some footsteps approaching the cafeteria.

Winston walked in, his glasses slightly askew and drool smudged along his mouth. Clearly, he had fallen asleep at his desk again. Despite looking like he was still dreaming, he deftly grabbed a spoon and jar of peanut butter and opened it up, scooping out a dollop and eating it. A drowsy smile crept over his face, and he pulled the jar up next to his face. “Oh peanut butter, you’re my best friend.” Angela and Jack both laughed, and Winston finally woke up, looking at them as embarrassment washed over his face.

“ _Gute Morgen_ , Winston!” Angela said happily, gesturing to the seat across from them. Winston walked over and sat down, jar still in hand. “Good morning. Please don’t tell anyone about this.” Angela giggled and Jack snorted, “You’re a genius gorilla that can tear apart Talon agents, I think you’re entitled to a few eccentricities.” Winston smiled weakly, grabbing another spoonful. “So Angela, are you happy to be back at Overwatch?” Angela sighed happily, “Very happy. I hope I will be able to get some actual research done, but we might need some equipment.” Winston nodded, “Done. It’ll be here by the end of tomorrow.” Angela smiled brightly, and Winston returned it.

Winston turned to Jack, “How about you, Soldier 76. Are you liking it here?” Jack drank the last bit of milk from the bowl. “Well, the food sure is better.” He chuckled, “Honestly, I’m just glad to have good company. But, if I might make a suggestion?” Winston nodded, “Of course.” Jack snapped the lower faceplate back on, “We’re gonna need some guards to protect this facility while we’re away. There is no way Talon won’t try and come after us, and with what happened to your last HQ, I’d suggest getting some more guys for security. Until then, I’d say we should hold off going out on missions. Train, research, whatever.” Winston stroked his chin, “That is a problem. We should be able to get some agents to help, just last night 20 more reported in. Still, I’ll look at potential agents and send out an invitation.” Jack leaned back, “Good to hear.”

“What were you two talking about before I got here?” Winston asked. Jack shrugged, “Just talking about the weather, how beautiful Gibraltar is.” Winston nodded, “I agree. The view of the ocean here is amazing. Sometimes I just come here to watch the waves roll in and out.” Angela smiled, “I’m surprised Winston, you were never the sentimental type back in Overwatch.” Winston shrugged, “Never had the time, really. Always busy inventing something or other.” Jack nodded, “Speaking of which, what are you working on now?” Winston perked up at the opportunity to talk about his inventions. “Oh! I’m designing a new type of recharging shield generator for use on our aircraft. Should be able to protect us from almost anything. I’m also working on a personal version, but it’s… a bit volatile.” Angela tilted her head, “How so?” Winston adjusted his glasses. “It exploded.” He replied, matter-of-factly. Jack raised his eyebrows, “Yeah, that might classify as being ‘volatile.’”

The three kept talking as Lena walked in. Angela happily noticed that Genji was right behind her. “Good morning everyone!” Lena piped up, grabbing some cereal before sitting down next to Winston. “Winston, how’s the shield coming along? Need any help?” Winston smiled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “It’s going fine Lena. I do have some tech I want you to test for me.” Lena gave her usual cheery salute, before turning to her cereal and promptly devouring half the bowl. Genji didn’t need to eat, but nonetheless sat with them, enjoying the conversation. Jesse and Fareeha arrived, grabbing their food and sitting at the end of the table, caught in their own conversation, occasionally turning to listen to the others. Hana and Lúcio soon arrived after them, still in their pajamas and looking absolutely dreadful. “Good morning you two!” Angela piped up happily. Jack chuckled as Hana groaned loudly, but Lúcio still politely waved, “ _Bom dia._ That stream last night might have been a mistake.” Hana grabbed a bottle of orange juice before once again piled her plate with food, nodding. “ _Ne._ Still, it was pretty fun.”

The two slumped into a pair of seats. Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Mei and Bridgette soon followed after them, and Reinhardt once again piled his plate with as much food as possible. “ _Gute Morgen, kameraden!!”_ He bellowed loudly, before getting shushed by Hana. Reinhardt froze before quieting down. “Oh, sorry. What’s up with her?” Lúcio spoke, “Hana and I just pulled an all-night stream. I think we hit 8 hours!” He gave a weak thumbs up and smile, while Angela shook her head. “That is not at all healthy.” Lucio nodded drowsily, “But super fun.” He turned to his pancakes, eating them while trying to use as little energy as possible.

Zenyatta arrived, floating to sit next to Genji. Immediately Tracer began to ask him questions; How did Genji and him train in the Himalayas? How long do you meditate each day? Can you teach me how to meditate? Zenyatta answered each question with typical patience, happy to help someone so interested. Jack noticed that on the other side of the table, Torbjörn was looking grumpy. Well, more grumpy than usual. Jack saw that he was staring right at Zenyatta, looking absolutely livid. _Well, some things unfortunately never change._

Finally Zarya entered, the sound of her heavy boots giving her away. Like Reinhardt she piled foot onto her plate, mostly bacon and eggs. Sitting next to Reinhardt, she started to talk, before noticing Zenyatta. Just as soon she sat down, she got back up, walking over to the monk. “Get up, bot.” Zenyatta merely tilted his head quizzically. “Excuse me?” Zarya cracked her knuckles. “You heard me. Get up. Vhy are you even sitting at a table, you can’t even eat.” The entire table fell silent, nobody was sure what to do. Zenyatta folded his hands, “I am talking with my friends, I think it would be easier to talk to them if I am sitting with them.” Zarya shook her head, “Talk later. Get out. Now.”

At this point, Jack, Angela and Lena had had enough. At once, they all stood up, Jack following Angela. Jack pulled Zarya away from Zenyatta, while Lena and Angela tried to keep the distance. “Alright, that’s enough.” Angela said flatly. Zarya broke Jack’s grip, turning to look at them. “Vhat? You’re going to stand with this bot!? Vhile they slaughter my people? Destroy my country?” Reinhardt had decided to join them, and grabbed Zarya by both shoulders, looking her square in the eyes. “Zenyatta is not your enemy, Zarya. He doesn’t want to hurt you, I doubt he really wants to hurt anyone.”

Zarya stared furiously at Reinhardt, “You’ve killed more bots than anyone, Reinhardt.” Reinhardt nodded, “Yes. Which is why you should trust me when I say that Zenyatta is not your enemy. He has helped Genji and I through many harrowing battles. He wants to end the war, just like you. Maybe you should give him a chance.” She faced Zenyatta, her voice lethal. “I’ve got my eye on you, Omnic.” Zenyatta merely nodded, “And I will watch your back in turn.” Zarya scowled back to her seat.

Angela turned to face Reinhardt, grateful at the giant’s intervention. “Thanks for the help, Reinhardt.” Reinhardt held up his hand, a wide grin spreading across his face. “It was no problem, Angela! Just glad to see that someone else was bothered by it.” He turned to face Jack, looking at the visor quizzically. “Now, what’s your name, _kamerad_?” Jack shrugged, “Soldier 76.” Reinhardt broke out into his trademark laugh, clapping Jack hard on the back. “Well Mr. 76, welcome to Overwatch!” Reinhardt returned to his seat, and began wolfing down pancakes.

Angela and Jack both decided to leave, walking out of the cafeteria. Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I’ve gotta head to my room and unpack my stuff. But I’ll come by and visit you later, ok?” Angela nodded, “Ok, see you later, Jack.” Angela wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him in close. Jack clicked the lower faceplate off, giving her a long kiss before gently breaking off and heading to the dormitories. There wasn’t much in the pack, really. Just some clothes, armor, ammo, mags, pulse clips and the pulse rifle. He put the pulse rifle on the desk, and put all of his clothes into his dresser. He looked at his bed and realized that he didn’t have any sheets or pillows. He headed towards the requisition locker, and punched in that he needed a set of bedding. The locker swung open and Jack grabbed 2 pillows and a basic set of white bedding, before turning to his room.

Just as Jack exited the room, he ran into Jesse and Genji. “Hey.” Jack said casually. Genji bowed what Jesse merely shot Jack a finger gun. “Howdy, what you up to?” Jack raised the bedding, “Just grabbing bedding for my room, sheets and stuff. You guys?” Jesse shrugged, “I’m just catching up with Genji.” Genji nodded, before once again bowing. “Thank you for helping my master, 76.” Jack shook his head, “Don’t mention it. Plus, I’m pretty sure Reinhardt did more than me.” Genji let out a light chuckled, “Still, thank you. _Yoiichinichiwo_. (Have a nice day)” Jack nodded, “You as well.” before finally heading back to his room.

Angela walked into the med bay, finally deciding to check her stocks. To her relief, everything was filled up. Even some of the machines still worked, though she wasn’t sure if they would even need them. Suddenly, she heard the med-bay doors open, and there was Mei and Lena. “Hiya doc!” Lena piped up cheerfully. Angela smiled, “Good morning Lena. Good morning Mei. How are you two today?” Lena shrugged her shoulders, “Couldn’t be better honestly!” Mei nodded, “I had forgotten how delicious the food was here. But…” Angela turned to Mei, “What is it, Mei?” Mei fidgeted a little, “Its Zarya. We talked a lot last night and I really, really… like her. But after what she did this morning…” Lena put her arm around Mei, reassuring her. “Aww, don’t worry ‘bout it, luv.” Angela nodded, putting her hand on Mei’s shoulder. “She’ll come around eventually. And if she doesn’t, well there are plenty of fish in the sea.” Mei smiled, “Thanks.”

Angela turned to Lena, “How about you, Lena? Anyone in your life.” Lena smiled mischievously, “Mayyyyybe. Bet you can’t guess who.” Angela smiled at Lena, letting Lena be smug for another moment before saying “Genji.” The smile disappeared immediately, instead being replaced with a furious blush. “W-was it that obvious?” Angela shook her head, “I was the one who told him to go for it.” Lena’s face turned indignant, huffing “That’s cheating!” Angela laughed, “Well, how did it go?” Lena got a dreamy look in her eyes, “After we finished dinner, he asked if we could talk for a minute. He said that while he was in the Himalayas, even when he was training, he always thought about me. He said he regretted not asking me out, that he was too afraid at what I’d say.” Mei rested her head on her hands, “Awwww.”

Lena continued, “I asked him why he was afraid, and he said that he thought I would hate his body.” Angela tilted her head, “What did you say?” Lena smiled, “I told him that I don’t care if half of his body is metal. I loved him, end of story. After that, he asked if I wanted to date him, and I said yes!” Mei clapped her hands, “Ohmygosh! That’s sooo sweet!” Lena beamed, “He wants to take me on a tour of Hanamura and Kyoto next week. I hope Winston will let us go.” Angela smiled, “I can’t imagine any reason why he wouldn’t.”

Jack set his bed, and finally the room looked half decent. He straightened out his jacket, making sure to look as best as he possibly could. He shut the lights off, heading for the med bay.

Lena turned to Angela, the mischievous smile back in form. “How about you doc? Anybody you’re interested in.” Angela tried to remain calm, but her cheeks betrayed her. “No, not right now.” Lena tapped her chin, “Really? Because I’m pretty sure I saw you with a certain masked vigilante.” _Verdammt! I thought they couldn’t see us!_ Angela blushed even harder, “Yes…Well, he’s an old friend.” Lena giggled, “I don’t think friends kiss each other on the mouth for that long.” _VERDAMMT._ Angela blushed, “W-well-I-we…” Lena giggled, “Come on, luv, give us the details! Is he cute?” Jack’s face again popped into her mind, heavily scarred, yet still every bit as beautiful as she remembered. Angela composed herself, “I’d say he’s more ‘handsome’ than cute. But yes.”

Mei interjected, “Oooooooo. So you saw his face?” Angela nodded, and Lena grabbed her, “What does he sound like?” Angela paused for a second, “Really deep, and gravelly. It’s not that much different from what his visor does, honestly.” Mei spoke up, “So mysterious. What’s he look like?” Angela decided to change some of the details, help throw them off of thinking it was Jack. “Well, he has these pretty green eyes, and two big scars running along his face.” Angela traced where they were. Lena perched her head on her hands, “Is he old?” Angela shook her head, “Not really, unless you count 43 as old.” Lena and Mei smiled at her, before Lena continued, “Well, in any case, it’s good that you found someone. Just be careful, he…” Angela interrupted “Has already told me what he’s done. Don’t worry, I’ve known him for years, I trust him.”

At that moment, they heard a knocking at the door. Mei walked over, and standing inform of her was Jack. “Hello, is Angela there?” Angela walked over, “Hello 76. Please come in.” Lena turned to face Mei, “Come on Mei, let’s go. Give these two some privacy.” She wiggled her eyebrows at them, Jack tilting his head in confusion. Angela waved good-bye, before dragging Jack into her office. Once there, she put the privacy blinders back up. Jack asked her, “What was that about?” Angela sighed, “Lena saw us kissing after breakfast.” Jack’s heart sank, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry Angela. I knew that it was a bad-“, Angela shook her head, reassuring him. “It’s alright, Jack.” Jack detached the visor, giving her a weak smile. “I’m sorry, Angel.” Angela put her hand on his cheek, giving him a soft, reassuring smile. “Don’t be, Jack.” She pulled him in and gently kissed him.

Angela pulled him over to the chair, and they talked. Just like in the old days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


	14. Beginning (Prequel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MAN THAT WAS A HUGE BREAK.  
> Yeah, sorry guys. I tried to keep writing while at school, but I just was never able to really find the time to do it. I was working on this chapter for something like 3 months, and now I'm finally done!!  
> Anyway, this chapter goes back. To before Overwatch. Hope you guys enjoy.  
> Oh, and Happy Holiday's to everyone!

North Carolina – 15 years ago

It was a sunny day at Fort Bragg, not a cloud in sight and even JSOC HQ was quiet. A nice day for a walk, or a picnic, or... something other than sitting around waiting for the commander of JSOC for some reason.

But Jack was nervous, and he had no idea why. Why would his superiors call him back to Bragg? They only did that for two reasons, 1. You fucked up and were in deep shit or 2. Shit was REALLY fucked, and you needed to fix it. Jack paced around the room, while Gabe was talking to his superiors. Maybe Gabe could find out what’s up.

Suddenly, a door opened on the opposite side of the room. Gabe walked out, his usual smirk on. _Well, shit can’t be that bad if he’s smiling._ Jack walked up to him, “What’s up?” Gabe shrugged his shoulders, his trademark sneer still on his face. “Can’t tell you, it’d ruin the surprise.” Jack shook his head, sighing. “Can you for once not be a vague asshole?” Gabe chuckled, “Nope. Go in, they want to see you next.” Jack gave Gabe the finger before walking into the room.

Inside there were 3 people. The first was the commander of JSOC, LTG David Anderson, a brilliant, stern man in an olive drab uniform who Jack, Gabe and Ana had known for years, but the other two looked different. A man and a woman, both in lab coats. _Medical staff, maybe scientists?_ Jack mused for a second, before snapping to attention, “You wanted see me, sir?” General Anderson nodded, “Yes, Master Sergeant. Please, take a seat.” gesturing to the seat in front of him. “Thank you sir.” Jack sat down into the large chair in front of him. The general folded his hands, “Sergeant, thank you for meeting on such short notice. But we have an opportunity for you.” Jack tilted his head, “Opportunity, sir?”

General Anderson nodded, “Yes. DARPA has been developing a new program to enhance soldiers, both physically and mentally. You’ve been selected as a candidate.” Jack tilted his head, “What would this program involve, sir? You make it sound more than just doing a couple of sit-ups each day.” General Anderson chuckled, “The program will involve augmenting your body, nervous system as well as some parts of your brain chemistry.” The woman stepped forward, “Most of the augmentation will be chemical, but some will be cybernetic. We’ve performed trials on several animal species before this, and the results show extreme promise.” Jack leaned back into his chair. The general coughed, “I know this is a lot to take in, Master Sergeant, but we need your answer. If you accept, your surgery will be next week.” Jack thought for a second, _Hell, if DARPA has approved it, it can’t be too dangerous._ Jack looked up, nodding. “Yes sir. I accept.” The general smiled, “Good man. Let’s get this paper work done…”

Once that was finished, Jack walked out of the room, where he found Gabe leaning against a wall, his sneer on full display. “So, how about that shit, huh?” Jack laughed, “Yeah. You going for it?” Gabe spread his arms, “Of fucking course I am, man! Who wouldn’t do this?” `Gabe slapped Jack on the shoulder, “Hey, I’m gonna hit the gym, you wanna join me?” Jack shook his head, “Nah, Ana and I are gonna be sniping, I’ll see you later.” Gabe nodded, “Right, later Jack.”

Jack walked over to the shooting range, walking over to the quarter master. “Hey, Dan. Can I get my rifle?” A voice came from inside, “Yep. Here she is.” The quartermaster handed an old M14 DMR to Jack, along with 2 magazines and a box of match ammo. “Thanks.” The QM threw Jack a thumbs up before turning back to his inventory. Jack walked over to the firing lane, setting up the rifle. He filled one of the magazines, before putting it into the rifle.

He set the targets to pop-up at around 400 meters, before shouldering the rifle. He checked the wind speed and made some final adjustments, aiming at the center of mass and applying pressure to the trigger. He took a shot, and the bullet hit right where he wanted, dead center. He kept firing, each shot landing in a small 1.5-inch circle around the center of mass.

A voice came from behind him, “Not bad, but you still need to work on your breathing.”  Jack turned around and saw Ana Amari behind him. She was cradling a large .338 Lapua magnum sniper rifle, a slight smile on her face. Jack shrugged “Yeah, alright. Because bipods aren’t a thing.” That, in turn, got Ana’s eyes rolling. “Alright, watch how it’s done.” Ana had targets set up at 1000 meters, and crouched down. She steadied her breath, and her entire body stopped moving. Frozen. The only thing moving was her right index finger, slowly putting pressure on the trigger.

 _PTSRRW!_ The rifle pushed back into her shoulder, and Ana returns to proper form. 1 second later, Jack saw the target shudder violently, a large hole where the bullet hit. “Easy.” Ana said, smirking at him. Jack laughed, “Ana, I’m a shook trooper, not a sniper. The fact I even know how to aim is pretty impressive.” Ana gave a light chuckle, before loading another round into her rifle and taking aim again. Jack shifted his weight, seating himself into the rifle. Jack and Ana kept firing until they both finally ran out of ammunition. Ana, of course, had won their little test of accuracy.

“So, have you heard?” Jack asked, handing the rifle back to the quarter master. “Heard what?” Ana asked, turning to walk with Jack. “Apparently, Gabe and I have been selected for some kind of super soldier program. Something about genetics and cybernetics.” Ana faced him. “Did you accept?” Jack nodded, “Well, yeah. I’m not gonna just turn down something like this.” Ana tilted her head, “Any idea when it’s going to happen?” Jack nodded again, “Next week.” Ana smiled at Jack, “Interesting. Wonder if they can do something like that for me?” Jack chuckled, “Not sure if you should just up and ask them, pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.” Ana smiled, “My lips are sealed. Now, let’s get something to eat.”

1 week later

Jack sat in the waiting room, cracking his knuckles. It was 5 minutes until he went in for surgery. Ana was next to him, mostly just for moral support. “You alright, Jack?” She asked, her eyes concerned. Jack nodded, “Just nerves, I’ll be fine.” Ana reassuringly squeezed his shoulder, “You’ll be fine, Jack.” The surgery doors opened, and a young nurse walked, out. “Master Sergeant John Morrison?” Jack stood up, “Just Jack, please.” The nurse nodded, “We’re ready to begin, just need to run some quick tests first, Sergeant.” Jack nodded, following him to a desk, “Blood tests, or…?” The nurse shook his head, “Logic and problem solving. Nothing too hard, just a benchmark.” Jack sat down at the desk, and a series of problems came up. Basic logic questions, simple enough to be solved yet hard enough to take some time. Jack got all 10 questions done in a little bit over a minute.

“Alright, that’s enough Sergeant. Please, take off all of your clothes down to your underwear.” Jack complied, putting his uniform into a bin next to the operating table. “Thank you. Lay down on the table, please.” Jack hopped up on the table, and a group of doctors and surgeons came in. A brunette woman stepped up to him, “Hello, Sergeant Morrison, my name is Dr. Halsey. How are you feeling?” Jack shrugged, smiling nervously. “Fine, but a little on edge.” The doctor smiled at him, “Well, let’s get started to not keep you waiting any longer. Stevens, the anesthetic.” Jack saw the man preparing the anesthetic, hooking up the system. The breathing mask went over Jack’s mouth. “Alright, Sergeant. Just take some deep breaths and count back from 10, alright.” Jack inhaled deeply, “Ten..nine..eight..seven..s-six..fi-five…” Jack suddenly felt very heavy, his vison getting dimmer and dimmer. Finally, everything went black.

Jack woke up with a groan, hurting everywhere, lines of pain running across his body. “Argh-Fuck me!” He grunted, clenching his fists, trying to get up. He looked around the room, a small sterile room with a window, the orange sky outside telling him that a lot of time had passed since the surgery. At this moment he realized he was strapped down. “What the…” The door opened on the opposite side of the room, and Doctor Halsey walked in. Jack could barely tell that it was her, his vision was extremely blurry. “Sorry, Sergeant. But your sutures haven’t healed over yet, and we can’t risk you reopening them.” Jack sighed, “Right. How did the surgery go?” The doctor smiled, “Better than we expected. We saw a 60 percent increase in your muscle mass.” Jack groaned, “Explains why everything hurts, I guess.” Jack became aware of how dry his mouth was, and a headache was fast approaching. “Uhh, can I get some water, please?” The doctor nodded, buzzing in on a small radio. A young woman walked in with a large cup of water. “Uhhhh…” Jack weakly strained the straps holding him, before Dr. Halsey undid his right arm. Jack raised his arm, grabbing the glass. Jack drank it greedily, before requesting another. Now he was feeling better. His vision finally fixed itself, and he looked down.

His body was sprawling with fresh, straight cuts. All along and across his chest and arms, all the way down to his legs. Jack barely stifled a gasp. He looked like Frankenstein’s monster, cut up and stitched together. “God…” Dr. Halsey noticed his wandering eyes, “They will heal over, don’t worry. We’ll keep a close eye on them to make sure scarring is kept to a minimum.” Jack nodded, even that was painful. “Can I get an Aspirin or something?” The doctor nodded, lifting up the radio and the young nurse came again, this time with a bottle of ibuprofen. “Take two, it should help.” Jack swallowed them, resting his head on the pillow. Halsey looked at him, “Would you like to rest, Sergeant?” Jack nodded, and the nurse and Halsey left the room, turning off the lights. Jack lifted up his arm, studying the bold red lines crossing his skin. He let out a deep sigh, before trying to get some sleep.

The next morning, Jack woke up to find his straps undone. Jack rolled out of bed, lightly rubbing his aching muscles, and he realized that all of his wounds had healed. The only indication that anything happened being smooth lines of scar tissue. Jack filled a cup of water before wiping the sleep from his eyes. A young nurse walked in the room, “Good morning, Master Sergeant. How are you feeling?” Jack rolled his shoulders, “Feeling fine. Little sore, but nothing else.” The nurse handed Jack a set of black shorts and a grey T-shirt; standard workout clothes. “Please get dressed, sir. Doctor Halsey wants to do more tests.” Jack nodded, slipping into them. The nurse came back in, holding another set of logic questions. “Alright, first the cognitive test.”  As soon as Jack saw them, Jack was already formulating an answer. A second later, he answered. He finished the test, turning to the nurse. “How was that?” The nurse stood, eyes wide in disbelief. “That was 20 seconds. That’s less than half your original time.” Jack shrugged, “They weren’t hard.” The nurse smiled slightly, “Please follow me. We need to test your physical strength and reaction time.”

Jack followed the nurse into a room, several exercise machines inside. All of the machines were wired to a computer. She walked Jack to a machine designed to test and measure his bench press. She placed various monitors on Jack’s skin; over his heart, at his temples. The computer booted up, showing a graph. “Alright, Sergeant. We are going to test your strength now. Just use the machine until it becomes uncomfortable.” Jack nodded, “Ready.” The nurse gave a thumbs up, and Jack started flexing. The machine started easy, gradually getting tougher and tougher. Jack powered through, until finally he couldn’t push any harder. “Ok, I think that’s it.” The nurse looked shocked, “What do you think was the most you could do before, Master Sergeant?” Jack shrugged, “Probably 255 pounds. Why, what was that?” The nurse looked up, “The peak was 500 pounds, but based on your biometrics you only started to exert yourself after 450 pounds.”  Jack felt the words sinking in. _500\. Fucking. Pounds._ The nurse coughed, “We still have some testing to do, Sergeant.”

The rest of the testing was much the same. Deadlift; 675 pounds, Bench press; 500 pounds again, Arm curls; 475 pounds. All nearly double what Jack could do before. What’s more surprising was that Jack didn’t even feel winded once he was done. Just a light coating of sweat on his forehead. The nurse took the monitors off his skin, “Alright, we’re finished testing here. Please follow me.” Jack followed the woman outside, to the kill houses. Jack saw two figures standing next to the largest kill house. One was Doctor Halsey, and the other Jack couldn’t recognize. Only at 15 feet did Jack recognize that it was Gabe. “Sup Jack.” His smile back in full form. Gabriel’s body was even more muscular than Jack’s, almost comically so. Gabe held up his hand, and Jack gave him a high-five. Gabe turned to the doctor, “So, I’m guessing we’re gonna be running the kill house, doc?” Doctor Halsey smiled, “Indeed, Senior Chief. Please, arm up and move to the starting point.”

Jack and Gabe walked into the armory, grabbing their weapons and armor. They had done this hundreds of times before, it was routine. Jack loaded up several magazines of simmunition, and a couple of flash grenades. “You ready, Gabe?” Gabe smiled, bumping Jack’s fist. “Let’s tear this shit up, _mano_.” Jack readied his assault rifle, while Gabe pumped his shotgun. Gabe stepped up to the door, squaring up to the door. “3-2-1-” Gabe raised his leg, kicking the door straight off of its hinges. “Breaching-Breaching-Breaching!!!!” Jack and Gabe stormed in, scanning the room. Jack saw a digital target carrying a rifle pop up on the other side of the room. Jack put two rounds into the target’s center of mass, while Gabe took out another target next to the door with a blast from his shotgun. “Room clear!” Jack barked, stacking up to the next door. Gabe fell in behind him, squeezing Jack’s shoulder.

Jack moved through the door, into a large hallway. He quickly walked down the hallway, scanning for targets. A digital target popped up on his right, and as soon as it was up, Jack dispatched another two rounds to the center. Jack walked to the end of the hallway, stacking up next to a door on the right. Jack moved up, checking the door for explosives before priming a flash grenade. He swiftly opened the door, tossing the flash grenade in. Jack heard a loud BANG, and Jack took point into the room. Gabe followed behind him, scanning the right of the room. A holographic target of a man in a business suit popped up, and Jack moved past it. Jack heard two blasts behind him, before Gabe yelled “Clear!” Jack moved to the open doorway, and before he could reach it, another target popped up, carrying a machine gun. Jack took it out, and stepped through the doorway. Gabe and Jack walked down till they reached the final door. “Last room, you ready?” Gabe asked, sliding shells into his shotgun. Jack knocked his shoulder and Gabe once again kicked the door down, and 5 targets popped up. Jack crouched down, taking out the right three, while Gabe took out the two on the left.

“Room clear! Moving outside.” Jack yelled, moving to the exit. He opened the door, and the sun warmed his skin. Jack quickly flicked the safety on, before walking over to Doctor Halsey. The doctor clapped, “That was incredible!” Gabe shrugged, “What was the time?” The doctor produced a tablet, scanning it briefly. “Total time was 1 minute 25 seconds. Your previous best was… 1 minute 50 seconds.” A deep voice came from behind them, “That is what’s known as a ‘massive improvement’, I believe.” Gabe and Jack turned to face the voice, seeing General Anderson walking in from the observation deck. Jack saluted, “General Anderson, sir!” The general chuckled, standing next to Doctor Halsey, “At ease, soldier. Gotta say, I’ve never seen anyone clear the kill house like that before. Not even you two.”

Gabe stretched his muscles, nonchalantly flexing his biceps, “Yeah, but that was before I got these bad boys, and Jack got…Whatever the fuck he got.” Jack rolled his eyes, while Gabe snickered. Doctor Halsey looked at her tablet, scrolling through the data. “From what we can tell, Senior Chief Reyes, your upgrades seem to primarily be to your muscular structure and your nervous system. Your muscle mass has increased by 90 percent and your reaction time is halved. You also seem to have a minor healing factor, and are able to process logic questions and situations 35 percent faster.” Gabe nodded his head, “ _Cogida sí.”_ Gabe once again flexed his muscles, making a huge show of it.

The doctor turned to Jack, “Master Sergeant Morrison, your improvements seem to be mostly focused on your cognitive ability, as well as your nervous system. Like Senior Chief Reyes, your reaction time has been halved, and we have seen an improvement in your processing of logic question. We saw an improvement of 50 percent.” Gabe coughed, poorly disguising the word “Nerd.” Jack punched him in the arm, while Doctor Halsey continued, “Like Senior Chief Reyes, you have a healing factor, and your muscle mass has seen a 65 percent increase.” Jack nodded, “Alright, any side effects we should know?” Doctor Halsey shook her head, “None at this time, but we will keep a close eye on you to make sure.” General Anderson nodded, “Thank you doctor. Anything else you need to say to my men?” Doctor Halsey shook her head, “Nothing now, General. Thank you.” Doctor Halsey turned to face Jack and Gabe, “I’ll see you soon.” Halsey began walking away from the killhouse.

Gabe turned to face the General, “Alright sir, what do you want us to do?” Anderson put his hands behind his back, relaxing. “Nothing right now, Senior Chief. If you guys would like to run the kill house some mor-“ Gabe took off his armor and put his shotgun away, “Nah. Nope. No Thanks. See you later.” Gabe was out of there before anyone could voice protest. Anderson chuckled, “Asshole. How about you, Sergeant?” Jack chuckled, “Sorry, sir. But I am hungry as hell. I think I’ll go grab something to eat.” General Anderson smiled, “Affirmative. Good work today, son. Dismissed.” Jack saluted, and after Anderson returned it, Jack made his way to the mess hall.

When Jack arrived, Ana was already sitting down at a table, sipping a cup of tea. She looked up at him when he entered, smiling warmly. “Ahhh, hello Jack. How are you?” Jack smiled back, “Fine, how about you?” Ana waved her hand, “Very well, thank you. Just got a letter back from Fareeha.” Jack sat down, landing a bit harder than intended. “What’s up with her?” Ana shrugged her shoulders, “She got into college. The American University in Cairo.” Jack beamed at her, “That’s great news, Ana! Congratulations!” Ana smiled back, “Yes, I suppose so.”

Jack heard a twinge of sadness in her voice. “Ana, what’s wrong? I thought you would be over the moon with this?” Ana sighed deeply, “I know, but it’s what she’s studying.” Jack tilted his head. Ana looked up at Jack, “She wants to study law… with a minor in counter-terrorism.” Jack finally understood. Ana was endlessly proud of Fareeha, but she never wanted her to follow her footsteps. Jack leaned back, and almost lost his balance. Jack swung his arms forward, grabbing onto the table. Ana quirked her brow, “You alright?” Jack nodded, “Yeah, still getting used to this body. Everything feels off.” Jack shook his head, trying to focus, “Anyway, Fareeha is a strong girl, Ana. I remember the last time you brought her over she was able to kick the asses of all the Ranger newbies, and those guys still had 2 years on her.” Ana glared at Jack, “I know she is tough, Jack. But-“ Jack raised his eye brows, “But?” Ana sighed, “A soldier’s life is dangerous. I’ve had more close encounters than I can count, and so have you.” Jack nodded, “Of course.” Ana continued, “I just don’t want her to join up because she thinks that’s what I want.” Jack chuckled and leaned forward, banging his elbows, “Owww-Ana, Fareeha knows you don’t want her to follow you. I remember the two-hour argument you two had back at _Panzer Kaserne_ in Germany. Maybe she wants to join because she wants to do some good. Fareeha’s smart, she knows the risks. Hell, how many stories have you told her?” Ana shook her head, “But-“ Jack held up his hand, “Telling Fareeha ‘no’ isn’t going to dissuade her. Trust me, my dad told me not to serve, look where I am now.” Jack chuckled, remembering his Dads gruff protests. “He said the exact same thing, ‘I don’t want you to join up just because I did’. Kids will never do what their parents want. It’s just basic nature.” Ana smiled, before sighing, “Thank you Jack. I just want her to be safe.” Jack nodded, “Don’t worry Ana. Gabe, half the population of Stuttgart and I know.” Ana rolled her eyes, sipping her tea.

A week later

Ana sat across from Jack, her legs crossed, cleaning the barrel of her sniper rifle, while Jack endlessly exercised, going from squats to push-up, then curls and them back to squats. He had been going at it for about half an hour, and only now was he beginning to feel it. Ana rolled her eyes, “Jack that is getting kind of distracting, can you please stop?” Jack shook his head, “Nope, no can do Ana. Gotta get to the point where it hurts.” Ana rolled her eyes, “You know Jack, most people might take it easy after surgery.” Jack nodded, “And I am not most people.”  Ana shook her head, slipping the barrel neatly into the receiver. Jack paused only to crack his knuckles, turning to Ana. “Besides, I thought you liked to watch?” Ana laughed, dropping her scope. As soon as he saw it leave Ana’s hands, Jack reached out and caught it. Ana raised her eyebrows, stunned. “Thanks.” Jack leapt up to his feet, perfectly balanced. “I think I finally got used to this new body.” Jack handed her the scope and Ana slid it onto the rail, nodding. “Good. Watching you bump into things was starting to get old.” Jack chuckled, “Yeah, yeah.”

Ana returned the rifle to the quarter master, walking with Jack to the mess hall, making a bee-line for the food. Jack grabbed a cheeseburger while Ana got a bowl of chili and a Greek salad. They went and found Gabe, sitting with a plate of pork and beans, sifting his fork through the slop. Jack and Ana walked over to the table, and Gabe looked up sadly. “How the fuck can the General never get a good cook?” Jack laughed, while Ana shook her head. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad. Got a lot of protein.” Gabe frowned at her, “That doesn’t change the fact that it tastes like boiled cardboard.” Ana rolled her eyes, “You can be such a baby sometimes.” Jack shook his head, “All the time.”, he corrected. Gabe laughed, “Just because I have taste buds doesn’t make me a baby.” Jack rolled his eyes, while Ana just threw her hands up. “Maybe order something that doesn’t come in a can, then?” Gabe shrugged, not able to come up with a good reply.

Jack tore into his burger, while Ana delicately ate her salad. Gabe ended up taking Ana’s advice, getting up and grabbing a couple of chicken fingers. He turned to Ana, “You’ve seen the new guys?” Ana quirked her brow, “You’re going to have to be more specific. We get trainees all the time.” Gabe stuffed a chicken finger in his mouth, talking with his mouth full. “Some dudes from Europe. One’s from Germany, and the other is from Sweden, I think.” Jack shrugged, “So, lots of people cross train here. Remember those SAS dudes from Hereford that were at the kill house?” Gabe shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. But still, just two of them? Seems weird to me.” Ana finished her salad, finally starting on her chili. “Maybe later we should ask General Anderson what’s going on.”

“Or how about right now?” General Anderson’s voice came behind them. The group spun around, and saw that he was flanked by two men. One was gigantic, with a wild beard and a joyous grin. His hair was just like his beard, long and light brown, and he seemed to have more muscle mass than both Jack and Gabe combined. A black beret was failing to contain his mane and he was wearing a set of green German flecktarn combat fatigues and a grey t-shirt. The other man was the physical opposite, small and wearing a grumpy face, but likewise had a long beard and muscles. He was wearing an oil stained T-shirt and coveralls. The most noticeable thing about him, however, was not his height. It was the gigantic contraption that was where his left arm was supposed to be.

Jack sprung up immediately, saluting the General. “Sir!” Ana followed after, smoothly saluting Anderson. “Good morning, sir. We were just wondering who these men were.” General Anderson nodded, “These are your new teammates.” Gabe furrowed his brow, “What?” Anderson smiled, “New teammates, Reyes.” Anderson gestured to the large man, “This is Reinhardt Wilhelm, from the _Mechanisierte Rüstung_ division of the German Army, and Torbjörn Lindholm from the Swedish Defense Research Agency.” Jack held his hand out, “Nice to meet you.” Reinhardt immediately took it, and Jack somehow managed not to wince through Reinhardt’s crushing grip. “Nice to meet you, _Kamerade_!!” Reinhardt spoke with a booming and joyous German accent. Jack turned to Torbjörn and shook his hand. Jack smiled, “I’m Jack Morrison, he’s Gabe Reyes, and she’s Ana Amari.” Gabe casually waved, not bothering to get up, but Ana walked right up to Reinhardt, her eyes stopping on his muscly arms, before finally meeting his gaze. Ana coughed, putting her hand out, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Reinhardt gently took her hand, smiling warmly, “The pleasure is all mine. Tell me, are all snipers zis beautiful?” That, surprisingly, got Ana to blush, while Gabe snorted, “Don’t really do subtly, do you big guy?” Reinhardt chuckled, while Torbjörn smirked, “Nope, he’s never really learned that.” Torbjörn spoke with a sing-song Swedish accent, contrasting his grumpy demeanor.

Reinhardt and Torbjörn grabbed some food. Reinhardt piled his plate high with chicken, and Torbjörn with a slightly smaller pile, before sitting down with Gabe, Ana and Jack. Gabe asked the first question, “So, where are you guys from? Berlin? Stockholm?” Reinhardt went first, “I’m from Stuttgart, vhere I was a body builder, but I vanted something more…ADVENTUROUS!” He swept his arms dramatically, “So I joined the army, vhere I wanted to be a tank commander. I got trained and everything. But zhere vas one teeny-tiny problem.” Jack quirked his brow, “What was it?” Reinhardt smiled, “I couldn’t fit in se tank.” He began roaring with laughter, the whole group soon joining in. “All zhose hours and all zhose tests, just for me to get stuck in the hatch. So, zey had no idea where to put me. But zen, my diminutive friend here…” He patted Torbjörn on the back, “Made something that fit me perfectly.” Torbjörn smirked, “Jah, really suits you.” Jack raised his eyebrows, “What was it?” Reinhardt smiled, “Can’t tell you, _kamerade._ It would ruin se suprize.” Torbjörn rolled his eyes, “Anyway, I’m from Gothenburg. It’s a little city on the ocean. I’ve been developing weapons tech for almost 10 years now. Everything from firearms to tanks.” Reinhardt nodded, “Jah, and he can throw a pretty mean punch.” Torbjörn shook his head, “I’ll have you know I use a hammer, not my bare fists. I’m not a barbarian.”

Finally, they all finished their food, with Reinhardt wolfing down the last of his chicken. Jack turned to face the giant, “So, Reinhardt, you said you had a surprise?” Reinhardt clapped his hands, “Indeed, let us go to the hangar, my friends!” Reinhardt started walking in the wrong direction, before Ana corrected him. Reinhardt thanked her, before following her lead. The hangars were usually filled with helicopter and various VTOL craft, but today there was a very large guest. An Airbus A400M was dwarfing the various MH-60 Blackhawks and MH-6 Little Bird’s on the runway. Jack whistled, “Nice plane.” Reinhardt nodded, “Indeed. Come on, se surprise is inside!” Reinhardt led the group to the back of the plane, and opened the cargo ramp. Inside was a large pile of… something, covered in a tarp. Jack, Ana and Gabe couldn’t make out anything other than that it was gigantic. “Are you ready to be amazed?” Jack nodded, “Alright, let’s see.” Reinhardt grabbed the edge of the tarp, and pulled it off. “Ta-daaa~!” Underneath the tarp was something that could only be described as a suit of knight’s armor. Except gigantic, easily over 9 feet. Jack walked up to it, eyes wide. “Whoa.” Gabe was more adamant. “That. Is fucking metal!”

Reinhardt laughed, standing next to the armor. “Zis is se Crusader armor by J08, version 2.4!” The group closed in, getting a better look. The armor was a warm steel grey with a darker grey exoskeleton underneath. On the left arm there was an intricate crest of a lion’s head, and several markings on the armor. Jack turned to Reinhardt, “You wear this thing? Like, into battle?” Reinhardt nodded excitedly, “Ja! I am a member of the _Mechanisierte Rüstung,_ mechanized armor unit _._ There are about 20 of us!” Gabe whistled, “Jeez, 20 walking tanks. What do you guys carry? Miniguns?” Reinhardt shook his head, “We have zhese.” He reached behind the suit, and pulled up a large hammer. Gabe burst out laughing. “A-A hammer!? You use a hammer?” Reinhardt smiled, “Not just any hammer, my friend. Zis, is a ROCKET HAMMER!” Reinhardt flipped a switch, and a jet of flame sprouted from the back of the hammer. At this point, Gabe was on the floor. “A-Aha-ha-ha! They could’ve given you, like, a cannon or a minigun, but you guys get a hammer!! Holy shit!!”

While Gabe was recovering, Ana turned to Torbjörn. “So, what do you do?” Torbjörn face lit up. “I am a builder! Anything you need, I can build. Given enough time, of course.” Gabe wiped his eyes, still smiling, “So, like what? Guns or…?” Torbjörn cracked his still remaining fist, “Well, in the field I can build automated turrets, and even body armor if you can get me some metal.” Gabe nodded, “Sounds useful. More useful than a hammer anyway.” Jack rolled his eyes, “Sorry, he can be like this.” Reinhardt smiled, “Not to worry my friend…” Reinhardt hefted the hammer onto his shoulder. “I’m sure he will change his tune soon enough.”

Ana clapped her hands, “Alright, how about we run some drills, see how we work together?” Reinhardt smiled, “Wunderbar! I’ll get suited up!” Reinhardt put the hammer down on the ground, stepping to the back of the armor. After a few button presses, the back opened up, letting Reinhardt step inside. The armor surprisingly didn’t make him seem much larger, it had roughly the same effect body armor had on a normal sized person. He picked the hammer up with easy, lazily carrying it in one hand. “See you on the battleground, kameraden!!” He quickly made his way off the plane, before once again heading in the wrong direction. Ana quickly followed to set him in the right direction.

The group entered the preparation area for the outdoor training ground. Jack strapped his armor and chest rig on, slipping ammunition into the pouches. He clipped his rifle into a sling, slipping it over his neck and under his arm, so the rifle dangled in front of him. He racked the slide on his USP, sliding it into his holster. Ana had her .338 Lapua sniper rifle slung across her back and a Glock pistol in a chest holster, and Gabe was once again carrying his shotgun, loaded for bear. Reinhardt was adjusting some settings on his hammer, and Torbjörn was fiddling with a weird looking pistol. Gabe rested his shotgun on his shoulder, “You guys ready?” Reinhardt gave a thumbs up. “Ja! Good to go!” Gabe stepped forward, “Alright, our teams callsign is Omega squad. Today, we’re are just gonna be taking on bots, but be warned, they have rubber bullets, which sting like a motherfucker.” Jack pulled up a schematic of the town, “Ana, you stay back and take out targets from the tree line. The rest of us are just gonna head down the main street. Reinhardt, you’re gonna be the heavy hitter, but expect to get hit.” Reinhardt nodded, “Affirmative.” Ana pointed to a large building near the center of the town, “Once you get here, Torb can start building his turrets, while I move to your position. There, we are going to hold the building while we transfer data back to HQ. That’ should take about 10, maybe 15 minutes. Then we exfiltrate via chopper and get some food.” Jack pumped his fist, “Hooah. Let’s do this.”

Ana quickly made her way into the tree line, while Gabe, Torb, Jack and Reinhardt moved to the edge of the town. “I’m in position. I can see two hostiles on to your left. Ready when you are.” Gabe nodded, turning to face the squad. Reinhardt, Torb and Jack all threw thumbs up, and Gabe readied himself. “Alright, moving in 3. 2. 1.” The squad moved up, blasting away at the two human sized robots. Both of the bots collapsed, riddled with holes. Several more robots burst out of the buildings, all of them firing at the group. Gabe motioned forward, “Take point, metal man!” Reinhardt stepped forward, raising his left arm. Suddenly, a giant translucent blue shield burst out of the lion crest, stopping the bullets with ease. “Stay behind me!” Reinhardt roared, steadily moving forward. Gabe, Torb and Jack moved behind Reinhardt, firing at targets. Every couple of seconds, a bot would fall with a large hole in it’s chest and they would hear the distant crack of Ana’s rifle. Suddenly, when they were about halfway up the road, 6 robots ambushed them, firing at the group. Reinhardt’s shield began to crack from the abuse, he turned to the squad. “Get to cover!!” Jack pulled into the doorway of one of the buildings, while Gabe and Torb took cover in an alley when Reinhardt’s shield finally broke. Reinhardt charged forward, smashing into one of the bots with the force of a freight train, and sending the others toppling like bowling pins. Reinhardt smashed into a wall, the pinned bot exploding into many, many pieces.

“100% GERMAN POWER!!” Reinhardt yelled, flicking bits of robot off of his armor, “Come on, my friends! Let us move!” The group moved up, taking out all the bot’s Reinhardt knocked over. Gabe and Torb moved into the building, while Jack and Reinhardt stayed outside to cover Ana. “Alright Ana, I’m covering you. Reinhardt’s gonna meet you and escort you to our position.” Ana’s voice came through the radio, “Affirmative.” Jack turned to Reinhardt, “Can you escort her back here?” Reinhardt nodded, smiling. “It would be my pleasure!” Reinhardt ran off, to the other side of town. Jack kept shooting, taking out several bots. Jack heard several loud ka-booms from behind him, before Gabe’s voice came over the radio. “Yep. Building’s clear. Starting the data upload now.” Reinhardt and Ana finally arrived, Ana having drawn her side arm. Both of them headed inside the building, Reinhardt just barely squeezing in. Ana made her way to the second floor, setting up inside a room with a window looking out across the main drive. Jack and Torbjörn set up on the balcony, Torb planting his turret down. Immediately, he began improving it, adding a second cannon. He clapped his hands, “Alright, now… Do what you were built to do!” Jack looked out across the town. “Ana, you see anything?” The sniper spoke calmly, “Nothing yet.”

They waited almost a minute, before finally more bots appeared. There was about 12 of them making their way down the street. Ana’s voice came over the radio, “Let them get closer.” Gabe chuckled, “Weird to hear our sniper say that.” Ana rolled her eyes, aiming the rifle at the head of a bot near the front of the group. Ana began counting down, “3…2…1… Open fire!” The whole team fired on the enemy, taking out 4. The rest scattered, trying to find cover. Jack fired his grenade launcher at a group of two huddled behind a barrier. The grenade hit the barrier and blew it apart, leaving the bots open to Jack rifle and Torbjörn turret, while Ana sniped the head off a large robot carrying a minigun. Occasionally, Gabe’s shotgun or Reinhardt’s hammer would blast apart a robot that got too close. Jack loaded in another grenade and put a fresh magazine in the rifle. Jack saw two robots flanking to the right of the building, and began firing controlled bursts. One burst hit the closer robot in the chest, taking it out, while the other robot only took one round to the torso. Ana quickly finished it off, firing three rounds from her sidearm.

The team worked together flawlessly. Calling out their targets, covering each other. Even when the bots tried to take them out with RPG’s, they couldn’t get a rocket off before being taken out. Suddenly the group heard the distant sound of a helicopter. A female voice came over the radio, “Omega squad, this is Atlas 6-1, we’re coming to pick you up. ETA 5 minutes.” Gabe got on the radio, “Roger that 6-1, proceeding to the west side of town. Be advised, there are several contacts with heavy arms inside the town, and we might need some CAS on the town. Watch yourself.” Gabe switched off his radio, “Alright everyone, let’s move.” Torbjörn disassembled his turret, “Ready to go!” Jack nodded, “Ana, you and Torb head down, I’ll cover you both.” Ana nodded, “Roger that. I’ll move first.” Ana slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder and unholstered her pistol, making her way down the stairs with Torbjörn in tow. A few seconds later, her voice came over the radio, “Alright Jack, we’re covering you, move out.” Jack moved back to the stairs, continuing to fire at any bot he could see.

Finally, the squad was all together. Gabe took out a bot with his shotgun, before turning to the group. “Alright, the chopper is landing in a field to the west of town. I say we move and fire to the EVAC point. Sound like a plan?” The group nodded, and Gabe pumped his shotgun. “Alright, Rein, you try and cover us with the shield” Reinhardt nodded, checking his shield. Gabe continued, “Everyone else, put some heat on these bots. I’ll take point.” Gabe stacked up on the door, Ana behind him and then Jack behind her. “3. 2. 1. Go!” Gabe ran through the door, his shotgun blasting away. The rest of the squad followed after him, heading towards a field to the west of the town. Reinhardt pulled up his shield, just as a massive volley of bullets came at them. Torbjörn began firing back with his rivet gun, literally nailing a bot. Jack and Ana turned around a took a knee, blasting away several bots before moving back. They made it to the field, and they heard the sound of a chopper. A large MH-67 Samoyed was coming in from the east, fast and low. The female pilots voice came over the radio, “Omega, this is Atlas. You need some CAS?” Suddenly, they heard a loud, continuous “VRRRRRRRM” as the Samoyed’s miniguns tore apart the robots in the town. The entire squad looked on as tracers soared over their heads. Gabe punched Reinhardt in the shoulder. “THAT. Is 100% American firepower.” Reinhardt chuckled, nodding. The helicopter touched down, and the group loaded on, Reinhardt barely managing to squeeze in. The helicopter took off, carrying them back to base.

The helicopter settled down at the airfield, the large ramp opening up to let them off. Finally, back on the ground, they all began taking off their equipment and armor. Once all that was done, they saw General Anderson approaching them, as well as woman in a grey uniform. She had blue eyes, white hair and a stern look about her. Reinhardt immediately sprung to attention, saluting her. “Madam Baumann!” The woman waved at him, “ _Rührt euch, Oberstabsfeldwebel Wilhelm.”_ Jack and Ana also saluted, “Sir!” Anderson nodded, “At ease, you two. That was some damn fine work out there.” The woman nodded, before saying in a mild german accent, “Indeed. You did what normally takes 15 men to do.” The woman held out her hand, “Oberst Madeline Baumann, German Army.” Jack and Ana shook her hand, before Ana answered, “Thank you ma’am. Reinhardt was incredible out there.” Reinhardt ran his hand through his hair, before smiling at her. “Not as incredible as you, Ana.” Baumann smiled at them, “So, this exercise is the first of many. The NATO is developing a force to be able to go anywhere and solve any problem.” Anderson picked up for her, “We’re still months away from actually putting this unit together, but you’ve already proven just how well you all work together.” Ana and Jack nodded, before they heard a loud growl. Jack rubbed his stomach, “Sorry, worked up an appetite.” Anderson chuckled, “Alright, we won’t hold you any longer. Dismissed.”

Ana, Reinhardt and Jack all decided to go to the mess hall for lunch, leaving Torbjörn and Gabe alone, since they seemed to both trying their luck. Gabe was hitting on one of the choppers door gunners, a skinny pale man with red hair, while Torbjörn surprisingly seemed to be having more success with 6-1’s pilot. Jack grabbed a burger, while Ana and surprisingly Reinhardt got a salad. They found a table, where they all sat down and began eating ravenously. Jack finally stopped eating to ask Reinhardt a question. “So, outside of the shield, what else can that armor do?” Reinhardt paused, “Vell, it has armor, and the hydraulics allow it to lift up to 5 tons. I also helps to prevent injury when falling from a long distance. Plus, the armor itself can resist most forms of small arms fire.” Ana raised her eyebrows, “Have you seen any action?” Reinhardt nodded, “We’ve supported infantry during the Caucus conflict, smashing through walls or buildings and helping take the fire off the troops.” Reinhardt finally finished, turning to the two of them. “How about yourselves?” Jack nodded, “I’ve been in the Army for 7 years. Joined the Green Berets, been deployed to Okinawa, Seoul and Afghanistan. Got recruited into Delta after an op in Seoul two years ago. Been working with Ana and Gabe since then.” Ana smiled, “I was a sniper in the Egyptian Army for 2 years, but the US offered me a position in the Navy SEALs. I joined up, got stuck with Gabe and finally Jack. Been trying to keep them in line ever since.” Reinhardt chuckled, “Knew I recognized your accent. Egypt is a lovely country, I visited Giza and Alexandria in my youth.” Reinhardt got a wistful look in his eyes, caught in the memory.

Suddenly, an ear splitting alarm went off and the siren outside was blaring. Jack and Ana immediately got up, while Reinhardt looked around, “Is there a fire?” Jack shook his head, “That alarm means something bad is happening.” “Very bad.” Ana picked up. “ **ALL SPECIAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL ARE TO REPORT TO HANGAR 3. MEETING IN 10 MINUTES REPEAT, ALL SPECIAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL ARE TO REPORT TO HANGAR 3 IN 10 MINUTES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”** Reinhardt, Jack and Ana all ran back to the airfield, wondering what could’ve called the base to high alert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And Happy Holidays!


	15. Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the Omnic Crisis, and the first deployment of the new team. Hope you enjoy!

7:34 PM - Triemli Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

“You’re lucky you were wearing a helmet.” Angela Zeigler was helping a young boy, couldn’t have been more than 12 years old. She was concerned about a large contusion on his lower back, apparently he had been biking when it happened. Angela grabbed an ice pack, before warning the patient. “This will be very cold. But it should help the swelling.” She put it on the young boys back, who recoiled from the cold. Angela pulled back, letting the child brace himself. Finally, she put it back on, taping it in place with some athletic tape. “There you go. Keep that on and the swelling will eventually go down. Are you alright?” The boy nodded, “Thank you miss.” Angela smiled, “You’re welcome. Off you go.” The boy hopped off the table, grabbing his helmet and running outside to his bike. Angela sighed, finally relaxing. She’d been called in to help fill in at 7 in the morning. On her week of paid leave. In fact, she wasn’t even part of the clinic any more, she had been working in the R&D labs for the past few months. Truth be told, she was happy to be back here, helping on a personal level, but that didn’t make her any less tired. She let out a yawn, just as Doctor Brier, Angela’s old supervisor walked in. She had her grey hair in a neat bun, a doctor’s coat, and a pair of horn rimmed glasses. Angela considered Brier her mentor, almost everything she had learn was from Brier. Brier smiled at Angela, “Dear, you’ve been working since 7 in the morning. A tired doctor is a sloppy doctor. Please, get some rest.” Angela shook her head, “Please ma’am…” The doctor held up her hand, smiling “No arguing Zeigler. Go home, get some rest. Thank you for coming in.” Angela smiled sheepishly, “Thank you Doctor.” Angela grabbed her coat and bag, heading for the door.

Angela walked outside, breathing in the cold, fresh air. Suddenly, she heard her stomach growl. She had forgotten that she hadn’t eaten anything all day. She decided to go and grab a snack before heading back home. She made her way over to a convenient store just down the road. She grabbed a protein bar and a bottle of water, paying the clerk with cash. She immediately began eating the bar, taking sips of water in between bites. Finally, she felt like she had energy. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, before walking over to the tram station, waiting for the tram back to her apartment. She sat at the station for 4 minutes, when all of a sudden her phone rang. Angela picked up her phone, and saw it was Doctor Brier again. Angela answered, “Do you need me to come in again?” “Angela, where are you?” Brier’s voice sounded distressed. “I’m at the tram station, why? Is something wrong?” Brier answered, “The government has ordered a state of emergency. There have been attacks all over Europe.” Angela began walking back, still on the phone. “What? When did this start, who is attacking us?” Brier answered, “I don’t know, Angela. But we need all the help we can get.” Angela began sprinting back to the hospital, “Yes ma’am. I’m almost there.”

Angela ran inside, back to the clinic. She saw the whole staff was bustling around, carrying supplies or patients. The TV was set to the news, cell phone footage and pictures of cities being torn apart. Buildings burning, footage of the military mobilizing. A cellphone video of frightened civilians running away from what sounded like machine gun fire, and the camera hitting the ground before it was trampled by something. The TV cut back to the news anchor, showing a live view from outside the city, smoke darkening the skyline. Suddenly, Angela recognized the city. Geneva. Angela heart stopped. _Mom and Dad. Oh gott._ She felt tears coming. Brier’s voice brought her back. “Angela, you’re here thank god.” Brier was standing next to Angela, a datapad in her hand, her once neat bun beginning to fray apart and her glasses tucked into her shirt. Angela turned to face her, “What’s going on?” Brier shook her head, “The government is ordering a state of emergency. It sounds like Zurich is going to become a safe zone, and the hospital is going to be made into a relief center.” Angela nodded, “I am ready to help, ma’am.” Brier smiled warily, “I know, dear. But there is no possible way you got any sleep since I sent you home 15 minutes ago.” Angela shook her head rapidly, tears once again welling in her eyes. “Please, let me help.” Brier frowned at Angela, “What’s wrong, Angela?” Angela rubbed her eyes, pointing at the TV, “My parents… They live in Geneva.” Brier’s eyes softened, gently patting Angela on the back. “Angela, I’m so sorry. Have you tried to call them yet?” Angela shook her head, “Not yet, I just found out.” Brier led Angela to her office. Angela quickly brought up her parents’ home, and pressed call. The line buzzed only once, before;

“We’re sorry, the number you have tried to reach is unavailable. Please try again later."

She tried her father’s cell phone.

“We’re sorry, the number you have tried to reach is unavailable. Please try again later.”

 _No. No, no no._ She felt the tears begin to flow, fast. She tried her mother’s cell phone.

“We’re sorry-”

Angela hung up. Her vision was completely blurred, her entire body shaking. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see Brier, her eyes awash in sympathy. Angela broke down, grabbing the front of Briers lab coat. Brier just stood there, rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. “I’m so sorry, Angela.” Angela wiped her eyes, trying to calm herself. “Please ma’am, let me h-help.” Brier looked Angela straight in the eyes. “Ange-“ Angela shook her head, “Please, I need to help, need to do something. Going home and crying my eyes out won’t do anything. Please…” Brier smiled sadly, “Alright, we need to clear out any non-critical patients to make room for refugees. Also, the waiting areas are being made into living spaces. Talk to Fischer, he’ll tell you more.” Angela nodded, “Yes ma’am.” Brier put a hand on Angela’s shoulder, silently reassuring her, before Angela set off to find Fischer.

 

1:50 PM - Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Jack, Reinhardt and Ana ran into the hangar, to the sight of hundreds of soldiers standing around General Anderson and Oberst Baumann. They quickly made their way over to Gabe and Torbjörn. Ana tapped Gabe on the shoulder, “Hey, what’s going on?” Gabe shook his head, “Something big. Stuff’s happening in Detroit, L.A and across the world, apparently. Don’t know who it is.” Suddenly, General Anderson coughed, “Attention.” The entire room quieted down, and Anderson continued. “Alright, here is the situation. Today, several large scale attacks were carried out across the globe.” The holographic projector turned on, displaying several pictures. All of them showed all-out war occurring across the globe; Hong Kong, Sydney, Los Angeles, Stuttgart, Detroit, Paris, Seoul, Moscow. Those were just the place’s Jack could identify. Hundreds more pictures flashed by. General Anderson picked up, “The attacker is not a terrorist organization, army or even a nation…” The pictures switched to an image of a large, box shaped figure carrying a machine gun. It had an orange and yellow digital camouflage pattern, and was definitely not human. General Anderson finished, “The attackers appear to be militarized Omnics.” Torbjörn shook his head, “ _Förbaske mig_.” Anderson continued, “There are two main classes we have observed so far. The on your seeing is their heavy combatants. They’re combat capabilities are fairly extensive, with what appears to be a 7.62 NATO machine gun as their main armament, and a 7.62 NATO minigun able to be used in a ‘turret’ mode. The other class is a human sized soldier, armed with a intermediate caliber assault rifle.” Baumann turned to the projector, pressing several buttons, “These attack were all coordinated across the globe and all occurred at the same time across the globe, at 1:30 Eastern Standard Time.” The projector produced a hologram of the earth, red circles sprouting across the globe.

Baumann stepped forward, “Evacuation of civilians is already underway, with the UN establishing several safe zones across the globe. NATO and the US are helping the evac operations. But from what I hear, that is not what you will be doing.” Anderson stepped forward, “Today, we are going to be deploying to stop the Omnic’s from moving forward. You will be joining up the 7th , 12th and 24th Armored Division’s and the Marine Corp’s 2nd Tank Battalion in repelling the Omnic forces near Greensboro. Warthogs from the 75th Fighter Squadron will be supporting you with Close Air Support.” A map of an interstate highway popped up, several red and blue icons flashing up on the screen. Baumann stepped forward, “There is one advantage we have in this conflict, it is that the enemy has very little in the way of air support and armor. As such, we must use our combined arms to the best of our ability.” Anderson nodded, drawing several lines along the map. “Your main objective is to push the enemy back, and do as much damage as possible. We are going to be deploying as such; Beret ODA’s 3456, 2794 and 3684 are going to be delivered via Blackhawk to here, moving up with the 12th armored division and a battalion of Rangers from Benning. Combat Controllers will be with you, coordinating A-10 Warthog fire missions. Delta, we’re sending you right up the middle, where you will be moving up with the 7th Armored and Marines 2nd Tank. DEVGRU’s Gold Knights will be joining you. Mark any strategic targets you can find, and the Warthogs will do the rest. Is that clear?” The entire hangar replied, “Sir, yes sir!!” Anderson smiled, “Alright. Morrison, Amari, Reyes, Wilhelm and Lindholm, meet with us. The rest of you, get ready. Choppers lift off at 14:00. Dismissed.”

The five of them walked up Baumann and Anderson, while the rest of the hangar emptied out. Gabe turned to Anderson, asking “What do you want us to do, sir?” Anderson gestured to the leaving soldiers, “You are going to go with them, but it seems like this multinational task force is going to be tested sooner than we’d like. Ana and Gabe, you will be leading the operation. Your callsign is Task Force Orion.” Baumann nodded, “We have traced the Omnics to be coming from reactivated omniums.”  Reinhardt shrugged, “So? Sounds like a simple solution, bomb the place until it is a crater.” Baumann shook her head, “Were it only so easy.” Anderson nodded, “Omniums are basically factories combined with a large nuclear reactor. Destroying it via conventional means would simply lead to a meltdown, contaminating the entire area around it.” Gabe smirked, “Chernobyl 2, Electric Boogaloo.” Ana and Jack snorted, while Anderson rolled his eyes, “The point being, we are going to have to find another way to deactivate them. In the meantime, your main target is going to be this.” Anderson pulled up an image of a strange looking structure. “We believe this is what is being used to broad cast orders to the Omnics in the field. It is broadcasting a constant frequency, mostly sending out information in binary. Disable it, and the Omnics will be completely disorganized. These are your main targets, understood?” The five of them all saluted, “Yes sir!” Anderson nodded, “Then get ready, you’re moving in with Delta on Atlas 6-1. Dismissed.”

Jack slipped into his combat fatigues, then checked his armor for any damage, before slipping the plates in and fitting it over his body. He strapped and snapped his chest rig as tightly as he could, checking everything once over. He filled several magazines for his rifle and pistol, stuffing as many as he could into the magazine pouches. Anything he had left, he put into his pack. He checked his medic pouch, making sure he had gauze, tape and adrenaline shots. He grabbed his rifle, clipping it into a sling, and slipped a magazine into his pistol, racking the slide and putting it into his holster. He wrapped a tan shemagh around his neck, then slipped his communication headset over his ears. Finally, he checked his helmet, before spinning it in his hands and putting it on. He cleaned his goggles, spitting on and polishing them before strapping them over his helmet. He walked over to Ana, who was kitted out similarly, albeit more tailored for sniper work than full on assault. Jack gave her a thumbs up, “You ready?” Ana gave a thumbs up, before pushing the talk button her radio. “Comms check, everyone good?” Jack pushed his, “Good to go, Gabe?” Gabe nodded, “Load and clear, metal man?” Reinhardt thumped his armor, “Crusader online! Little man?” Torbjörn voice came through, “Dra åt helvete, du reslig röv!!” Reinhardt laughed, “He says he’s good to go.” The team packed into Atlas 6-1 again, the rotors spinning up. Jack sat down, putting a magazine inside his rifle and putting it into battery, watching dozens of other helicopters take off. Once again, 6-1’s pilot came over their comms, “Good evening lady and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking, my name is Warrant Officer Jennifer Herrera, we’re in for a bumpy ride so please buckle your seat belt and hold tight.” Jack felt the chopper lift off, heading towards battle.

The flight to the war was mostly calm, with everyone checking their gear a second, third and sometimes fourth time. Jack moved to sit with the rest of the team, Gabe having jury rigged his headset into his smart phone, blasting metal music. The pilots voice came over, startling everyone, “5 minutes till we land.” Rein flipped a few switches on his armor, Gabe pumped his shotgun and Torbjörn performed diagnostics on his turret, soldering a few wires in place. Jack looked out the window, seeing 5 Blackhawk choppers following close behind. Suddenly, Jack heard something that sounded like distant thunder. He saw several giant black clouds of smoke coming over the horizon. Jack turned to Ana, “What’s the situation on the ground?” Ana shook her head, “We’re holding but it’s bad. Heavy casualties, but the tanks are helping.” Jack nodded, checking his rifle again. “1 minute till touch down.” The pilot announced.

Now, the distant thunder had become close. Very, very close. Jack could hear the sound of machine gun and assault rifle fire below them. Suddenly, the door gunners in the chopper began shooting, a continuous “VRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!” followed by the gentle trinkling of casings hitting the floor. “Thirty seconds!” Jack stood up, behind Reinhardt and Gabe. He rolled his shoulders, getting ready to sprint. The pilot began counting down. “5…4…3…2…1! Go Go Go!!!” The five of them sprinted out of the Samoyed, as bullets whistled over their heads. Jack immediately surveyed their surroundings, a freeway that had seen heavy combat, abandoned cars littered all over the place. Reinhardt popped his shield open, while Jack took additional cover behind a burnt up wreck. Jack popped up, and saw his first target. It was a large, blocky Omnic, firing at a couple of pinned soldiers. Jack shouldered his rifle, before letting looks a volley of accurate fire. The rounds hit the Omnic square in the chestplate, drilling several holes straight through. The Omnic looked down, before turning to face Jack with its angry red eye. Jack sent another volley down, while Ana and the pinned soldiers joined in. The Omnic was torn apart by the hailstorm of bullets, its lights dimming and circuits sparking erratically.

Gabe stood up, “C’mon! Let’s go!!” He fired two shots off, blowing huge chunks of metal off of another omnic. Gabe, Jack and Torbjörn grouped up with the group of soldiers. One of the soldiers, a tan man with a Sargent insignia on his shoulder, turned to them. “Thanks for the assist!! We’ve been pinned down here, trying to hold off as many of the bots as we could.” Gabe nodded, “Good job soldier, any word on getting some armor?” The soldier shook his head, “Most of it has been deployed to the east.” Gabe nodded, “What unit are you guys from?” The soldier responded quickly, “We’re from B company, 75th Rangers, sir! Most of us are, but there are a couple of Combat Controllers and 2 fire teams from 1st Recon as well, sir!” Gabe nodded, flipping on his radio, “Command, do we have a location for the broadcasting tower?” A gruff male voice answered, “Affirmative Orion, the tower is about 1 and a half kilometers from your position, just off the freeway. Get a laser on it, and the hogs will take care of it. Two Abrams tanks are heading your way. Over.” Gabe turned back to the Ranger squad, “Alright, when the tanks arrive, follow behind us.” The sergeant nodded, “Will do sir!” Jack turned to look down the freeway, scanning for targets. He saw another group of Omnics walking down the road, three large ones and a squad of the small ones. Jack switched on his radio, “Ana, there’s a group of them straight ahead.” Ana nodded, posting her rifle on a destroyed car. A loud shot rang out, and a huge hole appeared in the middle omnic. “One down.” Jack took aim at one of the small ones, taking it out with a burst to the chest, the red eyes fading to black. Ana turned to the group, “Looks clear.” The sound of treads came from behind them, and the ground began to shake. Two Abrams tanks appeared behind them, either crushing or pushing through any obstacle. “Orion this is Bull 2 and Mako 5, ready to get you down the road, over.” Ana switched her radio, “Roger that Bull, you take point, we’ll fall in.” The tanks moved forward, while the rest of them marched alongside the machine. Torbjörn actually hopped on the war machine, building his turret alongside the already existing one.

After about thirty seconds and 50 feet of empty road, they finally found more Omnics. Two of the Omnic’s had set up, and began firing as soon as they had rounded the corner. Reinhardt pulled up his shield just in time, absorbing most of the damage. Jack and Gabe started blasting away, sending one of the Omnic’s into repair mode. The tank swiveled its main cannon, servos whirling, until it was aiming right at the Omnics. The Omnics only realized what was going to happen far too late, when the main cannon fired. Jack actually felt the breath knocked out of his chest, and once the dust had finally settled, bits and pieces of warped steel was all that was left of the Omnics. The tanks kept moving, firing their machine guns and occasionally a blast from their main cannon, while the squad firing away at other targets. They kept pushing through, never stopping. Jack kept scanning the horizon, before finally seeing the giant radio tower. It was off the roadway, near the tree line. “Target up ahead!” Jack called into the radio.

The tower was massive, almost impossible. It looked like it might fall over just from it’s own weight. Between the convoy and the tower was a field, filled with various pieces of debris, Omnic and otherwise. A couple small patches of trees littered the field. In the distance, Jack could see another battle. The Omnic’s were fighting hard, and it looked like there were heavy casualties on both sides. Ana moved to the following squads, “We need a CCT up here.” The airman, a young black man with a crazy beard ran up, carrying a laser designator, that looked like a set of heavy, jacked up binoculars. “Yes ma’am.” Jack pointed to the tower, “We need you to put a laser on that target.” The airman nodded, kneeling and looking at the position. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like they have AA defenses up. Calling in CAS would just lead to a slaughter.” Jack knelt down, “Where are the defenses?” The airman gestured, “Inside that small cluster of trees. Looks like a couple of Omnic’s are there as well.” Jack nodded, “We should take a team down into the trees, and take out their AA so the A10’s can do their magic.” Jack walked over to the Rangers, “You guys have a sapper?” A man stepped forward, carrying a shotgun and a large backpack. “Private Han, reporting sir!” Gabe approached, “You got C4?” The private nodded, “Enough to send them to the moon, sir.” Gabe chuckled, “Alright, Reinhardt, Jack and your squad are gonna be heading down there. Stick with them, they’ll keep you safe. The rest of you, give them as much covering fire as possible, that includes you, Bull and Mako.” Jack put a fresh magazine in his rifle, “Let’s move out.”

Jack and Reinhardt charged forward, the squad close behind. About halfway across the field, the Omnic’s started firing. Reinhardt deployed his shield, while Jack crouched and sent fire down range. Behind him, he heard the squad begin firing, and then the entire convoy. Jack and Reinhardt moved forward, waving the squad forward. The squad moved up, while Jack radioed the convoy, “Tanks, hold your cannon fire.” The tank commanders voice came over the radio, “Roger that.” As they got closer, they could see just how many Omnics were left. Some light, human sized ones and a couple of the bigger, minigun one’s were left. Jack fired a grenade at a group of human sized one’s, blowing them apart. Jack fired another volley into one of the Omnic turrets, shutting it down. Reinhardt’s shield died, and he charged forward, “Let us move!!” pinning a robot and slamming it into a tree. Jack followed close behind, taking out another large Omnic with his rifle. Two small Omnics began firing grenades at the squad, and Jack took one out, while Reinhardt smashed the other.

Suddenly Jack heard screaming behind him. One of the soldiers, the AT specialist, was on the ground, blood spurting out of her right leg. A grenade had blown it off below the knee. Jack moved diligently, firing while making his way back to her. He finally knelt down next to her, and Jack saw she had a PFC insignia on her uniform, and her name, Ellison. “You still alive, Ellison!?” The private nodded, gritting her teeth. She was going pale and had clearly lost a lot of blood. Jack threw his back pack down, opening it to retrieve medical supplies. Jack grabbed a tourniquet, tightening it at the middle of the privates thigh. Jack retrieved a syringe of morphine, plugging it into the soldier’s leg. By now the rest of the squad surrounded them. Jack looked at them, “Medic gets to stay here, the rest of you, get moving! Private Han, I want you to blow that AA position sky high! Move out!!” The squad moved while the field medic, a tall Hispanic man named Ramirez, knelt down, helping Jack treat the wound. Jack handed him a packet of hemostatic, while Jack readied the gauze. As soon as the packet was applied, both Jack and the medic wrapped the wound, taping and tightening it in place. Jack turned to Ellison, “You alright soldier?” She nodded, “Y-yes sir.” Jack nodded, “Alright, we’re gonna get you out of here.” Jack grabbed his radio, “Ana, we have a wounded soldier down here, we’re gonna need a med-vac.” Ana responded, “We’ll call it as soon as you get back here.” Jack looked over towards the rest of the team, who were running back. Reinhardt waved his arms, “ _Es wird explodieren !! Lauf!!”_ Jack understood ‘ _explodieren’_ well enough, and picked up private Ellison, hoisting her over his shoulders. He grabbed his backpack, and began sprinting back to the convoy.

Jack ran back onto the pavement, stopping when he reached the tanks. He gently set Ellison down. Jack knelt down next to her, “You feel ok, private?” She nodded, “I’m fine, sir. Thank you.” Jack nodded, smiling as a team carried a stretcher over, laying her on top. Jack stood up, just in time to see the AA position detonate. The convoy whooped and cheered as the shockwave passed over them. Ana motioned to the CCT, “Call it in.” The man saluted, “Yes ma’am.” The man looked through the laser designator, and got on his radio. “Calling in A-10 fire mission at map point Charlie 10, keypad 6. Target is lazed, hit it with everything you have. Over.” A minute later, Jack heard the sound of two A-10 Warthogs flying overhead. Then the  “BRRRRRRRRRRRRT” as the cannon opened fire, followed by several loud whomps as rockets and guided missiles hit the tower. The tower shuddered, before slowly falling over, the metal groaning as it protested. The convoy was ecstatic, jumping up and down. Gabe called it in, “Command, the tower is down. Hope it helped.” Anderson’s voice came over the radio, “Good job, Orion. Enemy forces are in retreat, sending a bird to pick you up, over.” The team turned to the battlefield, and saw tanks and other soldiers were advancing on the Omnics, when Jack noticed something. The Omnics were fleeing, en masse. He walked over to the CCT, and asked for the designator. He looked through, and saw they weren’t even firing back. Their once angry red eyes had changed to a blue. _What the hell?_ Jack’s reverie was disrupted by the sound of helicopters heading towards them. One was a Blackhawk, with a large red cross on the side; the Medevac. The other was Atlas 6-1’s Samoyed. The helicopters touched down in the field, and the group walked down to the chopper. Jack helped carry the stretcher to the medevac, loading her on while the rest of her squad followed. Jack quickly moved back to the Samoyed, sitting down next to Torbjörn. Jack suddenly realized just how dead tired he was, sinking back into his seat. He looked out of the back of the chopper, over the battlefield. The smoke was still looming over the horizon.

The helicopter touched down back at base, and the group loaded off. An intel officer walked up to them, saluting. “Orion, Anderson and Baumann would like to meet with you. Please report to HQ ASAP.” Ana nodded, “Thank you, specialist.” The team walked to HQ, which was buzzing with activity. Anderson was in his office, talking with Baumann. Gabe coughed, “You wanted to see us, sir?” Anderson turned around, “Yes, thank you. Good work out there, Orion. You not only proved our idea of the tower being vital to the Omnic command, but you helped lead to the first real victory in this war. Good job.” Baumann nodded sadly, “This good news is needed, given how hard Europe has been hit.” Baumann turned to Reinhardt, “ _Oberstabsfeldwebel Wilhelm,_ I need to speak to you privately.” Reinhardt looked surprised, but nodded, “Ja, ma’am.” The two of them walked into a separate room, while Anderson moved to the rest of the squad. “That was damn good work. Rest up, get some chow, whatever. Except you, Sergeant Morrison.”

Ana turned to Jack, “I’m going to grab some dinner, meet you after this?” Jack nodded, “Sure, I’ll grab Reinhardt and meet you there.” The rest of the squad funneled out of the room, and Jack turned to face Anderson. “Sir?” Anderson sat down behind his desk, “I heard about how you helped save Private Jessica Ellison today. Damn good work.” Jack nodded, “Thank you sir. How is Private Ellison doing?” Anderson smiled, “She’s shaken up, but stable. Without your quick intervention, she would likely have gone into shock, and possibly died. As such, I have recommended you to receive a Silver Star for your actions.” Jack nodded, “Thank you sir. But I can’t take all the credit, I’d like to recommend a Silver Star to her squad’s medic Specialist Ramirez for his actions. Without his help, I doubt that I would have succeeded.” Anderson nodded, “Thank you Sergeant, we will be sure to commend him for his actions. Rest up, Morrison. Dismissed.” Jack saluted Anderson, and walked out of the room.

Upon walking out of the room, Jack saw Baumann still talking with Reinhardt, the tone somber. Reinhardt nodded, saluting her and walking out of the room. Jack walked over to Reinhardt, “Hey, what’s up?” Reinhardt shook his head, “There was a Omnic attack at Stuttgart. My unit was deployed to stop them, and they were pushed back into a small town, letting the German army push them away from Stutgratt. They gave up their lives.” Reinhardt took a deep breath, “I am the last Crusader alive.” Jack shook his head, “Shit. I’m sorry, Reinhardt.” Reinhardt nodded, “Thank you.” Jack didn’t know exactly what to say, when he suddenly heard Reinhardt's stomach growl. Jack punched Rein in the shoulder, “C’mon, let’s get some food.” Reinhardt smiled sadly, then regained his composure, his old grin back in full force. “Ja, let’s go! I could eat a whole cow right now!” Jack chuckled, leading the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


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